SBB 2016 Entry #13: liminality (1/2)
Title: liminality
Pairing: key/onew, key/taemin
Rating: PG
Genre: fantasy
Warnings: none
Final Word Count: 15k
kibum was lying, stretched out, on an oyster mushroom that grew out of the side of his favourite tree. one leg dangled over the edge, his face expressionless as he considered the day’s activities. his hand was travelling across his fitted, knee-length garment in a rhythmic motion, up and down, up and down - it had been crafted out of leaves from the very tree he was lounging on, its texture glossy. today was the day for merchants to come by and present their products to him, and he was making a mental list of the things his people needed, and the things he wanted for himself. it was an easy exercise, because he’d been doing this for a long time. that he was good at it was what made his people tolerant of having him in power; despite, what anyone in polite company would refer to as, his ‘gift’.
when he was growing up, one of the queen’s favourite anecdotes had been about how he’d killed two wet nurses before he’d grown old enough to be able to control the biggest excesses of his capabilities. it had made him cringe every time she told it, because while it was clear that his mother had considered it a sign of his unparalleled and thus divine power, kibum had had no trouble seeing the suppressed horror in the eyes of visitors and court attendants alike.
“my king,” a soft voice came, with a quality of that of a spring breeze, “the merchants have arrived.”
he turned his head towards the court attendant, who was barely visible, her form made up of soft gusts of wind. her outlines only became apparent whenever her body picked up small flurries of pollen and dandelion seeds; unlike the more solid races, her kind didn’t enjoy wearing garments. the majority of his current attendants were wind faeries like her, and a smattering of dew faeries.
it had been a conscious choice on his part. because of their ethereal qualities they were almost impossible to inflect deadly wounds upon. and yet, his mother would have been disapproving of his choice, and of the limited size of his court. she herself had always been in favour of the bigger, burlier faerie races, a firm believer of protection found in physical strength and numbers.
but, she was no longer around to advocate her preferences.
he sat up and opened his wings, inspecting the lower part of one of them and cleaning the delicate surface with a flick of his hand. as much as he enjoyed this tree, it had been growing weak and mossy lately, which meant it kept getting flecks of moss all over him.
“where have they gathered?”
“the faerie circle near the brook. the one that sprang up last week.”
kibum sighed in irritation; it was difficult to do business over the rushing of water. intentional pauses on his part would be overlaid with sound, which meant the merchants wouldn’t be as uncomfortable as he wanted them to be. he had found that haggling tended to go smoother when the other party felt ill at ease.
“have they been brought refreshments?”
“one of the apprentice dew faeries is making the rounds. the brew was especially fragrant this morning, i predict you will find your trading partners in an excellent mood.”
“thank you, minjeong.”
minjeong bowed her head and led the way to the new fairie circle, which kibum hadn’t had time to inspect yet. he was pleased to see it looked beautiful, made up of a rare variety of purple-spored puffballs. in a few weeks, they would grow into abundant sources of food. right now, however, they weren’t purple yet. right now they were still tiny and white, and the perfect size for lounging.
many of the merchants were indeed already resting on them, holding cups plucked from nearby lily of the valleys, while they chatted and inspected each other’s merchandise. taemin, the apprentice faerie who had been given the important task of serving, was filling the cups from a spiderweb pouch slung over his shoulder. the setting sunlight caught the golden hue of the liquid inside the webbing, causing its surface to coruscate every time he moved. in the mornings his kind sparkled in much the same way, when their bodies attracted freshly formed dew drops.
kibum joined the party, settling on an unoccupied mushroom and quietly thanking taemin for his services. taemin responded with a flustered gesture of respect, and quickly went to sit on a mushroom of his own, halting his activities for now. the new responsibility had left him proud and overwhelmed at the same time.
“my dear merchants, thank you for coming. i hope your travels have been safe and pleasant.”
“they were,” a bug faerie responded, her face hidden behind a carved mask, crafted from the head of a praying mantis. kibum briefly admired its intricacy, the beauty of the mantis’ face elevated by the geometric patterns the faerie had whittled into the surface of the creature’s forehead. her wings were covered in something iridescent, most likely beetle dust; merchants tended to wear their fripperies to court, each of them wishing to look finer and wealthier than the next.
the royal faerie was about to open his mouth to invite them to show their wares, when a dull crash sounded behind them. a soft groan spread through the merchants, one that told kibum they knew exactly what had caused that sound. but he did not, and turned his head.
there was another crash, followed by wet snuffling. a boar appeared through the underbrush, its massive mouth gaping and thunderous as it breathed in and out. taemin shifted in his spot, but aside from him no one else seemed particularly phased. boars were clunky but generally friendly towards their kind. kibum was about to give the beast a nudge so it would be on its way, when a harried voice sounded from the top of its head. a figure that had been hidden by the boar’s fur was now clambering down the side of its head, his words slightly muffled because he kept getting boar hairs in his face.
“sorry we’re late! we, uh… puh, puh-! … got lost somehow? terrible luck.”
a dark look from a seafoam faerie nearby made kibum suspect the newcomer getting lost had been anything but an accident. he watched the newcomer jump the last twenty centimetres to the forest floor, and waited patiently as the stranger dusted himself off and removed a coarse boar hair stuck to his chest, and another one from his floor-length hair, which glinted in chestnut hues whenever it caught a ray of sun. kibum briefly wondered why the stranger wore it so wild and long, as it was not the current fashion. his own was cropped short, especially at the sides, showing off the faint markings behind his ears.
even the stranger’s attire was unusual, made out of a very flat pelt that was completely uniform in appearance. it looked like it originated from no animal the king had ever encountered, its colour a striking pale blue.
the boar-rider turned towards his means of transportation, the determined set of his brow showing he meant business. “now, junebug… just as we’ve discussed: go wait by the waterfall. no wandering. and no digging for truffles until i come back, okay? nod if you understand.”
an insulted mutter could be heard from the fairie wearing the mantis mask. kibum suspected she farmed actual june bugs, considering all her bug-related fineries, and did not appreciate the misuse of the name.
once the boar was safely settled upstream, the stranger took a seat on one of the last empty stools on the far edge of the circle. he treated the gathering to a brilliant smile.
“so. what did i miss?”
“nothing,” a nearby faerie hissed.
“welcome, stranger,” kibum interrupted in a calm, but authoritative voice. all eyes turned back to him, some of them squinting because the sun was about to dip below the horizon, casting the scene in blinding hues of red and orange. this was no accident.
he instructed taemin to provide the final merchant with a cup of dew, while raising his hand towards a group of birches nearby, bending the nearest one so that its foliage would provide them with shade. the silence turned from polite to awed as the tree followed the movement of kibum’s arm like a hypnotized snake, and the magic coursing through him caused his natural glow to increase, so that the somewhat hidden markings on his skin became clearly visible, fine white lines racing to cover him in intricate patterns. amongst the faeries that had never attended his court before he heard whispers of ‘so it’s true’ and ‘how dreadful’, and the king felt pleased he’d found a different way to put a sense of discomfort into the group.
when the group had settled down again, a variety of goods were brought before him. some gathered and some created, but all with a fine attention to detail. he purchased some rarer items on the spot, and put in orders for anything he needed in bulk. he could hear taemin sighing in approval when he placed a large order with a local potter.
in the excitement of bidding and bargaining he’d forgotten all about the boar-rider, and his boar - which was sitting still enough that it had become near-invisible in the dusk, too far out to benefit from the soft glow spread by the faeries - until said faerie’s turn came. he made his way to the middle of the circle, and let his backpack fall to the floor with an audible thump, causing several of the fairies to cringe. kibum wondered if he gathered rocks, or something equally indestructible, that he’d feel confident treating his goods so carelessly.
“what is your name, merchant?”
“jinki!” the fae replied, his voice once again becoming muffled as he all but disappeared inside his bag. “i hope you like these, your highness… where did i put the… ah, here!” he reappeared with an excited smile on his face, his hair in further disarray. kibum squinted and leaned in closer, trying to determine what kind of adornment the salesman had put on his cheeks, newly noticing that something was there.
in the faerie’s grip sat a circular object, of a roundness and flatness that reminded kibum of fern spores, but much larger. there were four holes in the middle, so evenly spaced that kibum couldn’t help but feel impressed by the level of skill. he hoped the price wouldn’t be exorbitant. he also hoped he would receive an explanation on the intended use, because he had no clue what it was.
“this, um, is a button? humans make them for their clothes,” jinki explained, correctly interpreting kibum’s empty expression. the same seafoam faerie from before produced a swishing sound that sounded a lot like a groan. “they kind of work like a pin, you push them through the hole on the other- nevermind, that’s not what’s important right now. they’re very useful! i’ve seen folk turn them into chairs and tables and whatnot, and i guess they’d make good wheels, that is, if we used equipment like carts in our society, haha! oh, they’re also pretty good for shelving and work benches, because the holes make it easy to suspend them-”
“i’m sorry, did you say humans?” minjeong interrupted, her voice the wind itself. kibum hadn’t realized she’d been so nearby.
“yeah! see, i’m originally from-”
“you stole this?” she sounded stern, and the king was pleasantly reminded of why he had appointed her head of his guard.
“oh, no no!” jinki refuted, shaking his head furiously. kibum was still staring at his cheeks, subtly turning up the strength of his inner glow so he could see them better. the runes on his body became easier to distinguish the brighter he burned, but he was curious. the merchant’s face appeared to be covered in jewellery, but coarsely ground, and scattered without any sense for symmetry. “i’m friends with a sempstress, and she gives me a couple from time to time.”
“a human sempstress?” minjeong’s voice had grown in force, translating into a gust of wind, and jinki’s long hair flicked into his face. the sounds being made by the other attendants were growing in volume too, their disapproval no longer covert.
“erm,” jinki replied, remaining in his spot. kibum leaned his chin in his hand, observing quietly. he no longer wanted the thing - button - but his interest in the boar-rider had been renewed.
“what else have you gathered, jinki?” he asked, not unkindly.
jinki combed back his hair and cleared his throat, now visibly bothered by the hecklers, his face flushing. kibum wondered if, until now, the fae hadn’t realized that the other travellers didn’t like him much.
“it’s just buttons this time around…”
“humans and their things have no place in this kingdom,” minjeong replied curtly, flicking jinki’s hair back into his face. kibum wondered if she was doing that on purpose, glancing at her fondly. he reverted his attention back to the group at large, straightening his back and speaking with raised arms. he had brightened his glow to the point where the circle was basking in his light, the boar’s eyes glinting in the darkness when it turned its head towards him.
“this concludes the trading portion of the evening. thank you so much for coming, all of you. supper will be provided, and temporary housing for those who wish it. if you have any questions, minjeong-” he extended his hand towards her “-will gladly be of assistance to you.”
the majority of the faeries started gathering up their goods and heading back to their means of transportation, quietly chatting amongst themselves. one of the seafoam faeries unclasped a finely carved seahorse pendant from his neck and touched it to the water of the brook, until a life-sized seahorse emerged, complete with a saddle on its back. a group of wind faeries threw up a piece of bark and clung to it as it swirled out of sight. the faerie with the mantis mask blew softly on the ring she was wearing and drove off on the ladybug that was attracted by it. jinki, too, was packing up again, but the dejected look kibum had expected on his face was not there. only a handful of the guests accepted the offer of supper, following minjeong to a tree nearby, where more court attendants had prepared and set up a meal in a tree hollow.
kibum flew over to the birch he had bent earlier and straightened it back out with measured touches, following the smooth surface of the bark with his palms. far below him he witnessed jinki mounting his boar and settling down on the animal’s head. the salesman set her in motion with a sharp click of his tongue. kibum continued to watch him for a couple of seconds, before turning away and joining his court for supper.
♔
the next morning he woke up unusually late, with a pounding head. the dew faeries had been generous with their mead the night before, and kibum crawled to the edge of the hollow that contained his chambers, breathing a little easier when the cool morning air brushed against his forehead.
“all that magic, and you still can’t hold your liquor. sir.”
he groaned, rolling away from the opening. the fragrant leaves that formed the bedding for his chambers crackled underneath him. “minjeong. shut up, will you?” his inclination towards formalities disappeared when it was just him and her. he only ever called her his guard, but it was obvious to anyone that she was a little more than that. a friend, perhaps.
she flew closer, the rapid movement of her near-invisible wings causing some of the bedding to swirl into the air. under normal circumstances he would have reprimanded her, but the increased air flow felt pleasant against his skin.
“have the guests left yet?” he asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye.
“all but one,” she said calmly. she herself was looking off into the distance, as to not make her king feel embarrassed about his dishevelled appearance.
“who? don’t say the dung beetle faerie.”
“alas.”
the king exhaled. “i would feel a lot less animosity towards that guy if he didn’t insist on smelling like beetle excrement all the time.”
“he says it reminds him of home.”
“which is what,” the ruler scoffed, “a beetle ball?”
“it is very likely.”
kibum groaned, and yet he felt his spirits lifting - minjeong’s bluntness never failed to lift his spirits. he sat up, rubbing his face, trying to get rid of the prickly sensation clinging to his skin.
“will that be all, my king?”
“how do i look?” kibum asked, lowering his hands.
“sickly. will that be-”
“could you fetch me that guy… the guy with the…” he snapped his fingers repeatedly, willing himself to remember- “buttons. bring him here.”
minjeong landed, and he immediately felt too hot.
“the boar-rider? how so.”
“i enjoyed him.” he turned his head so he could fan himself with one of his wings.
“… how so.”
“what does it matter? just do it,” he responded, a little irritably, while going over to his basin to pick up a drop of water. “you can fly like the wind, can’t you? you’ll catch up to him in no time.” he sipped from the drop before pushing his face into it, causing the chamber to look distorted through its surface tension. he blinked before pulling back, just in time to catch the sound of a faint flutter near the tree’s entrance, and when he looked minjeong had gone. he discarded the water, exiting the hollow and flying to the top of the tree, raising his arms in the air and blowing faintly in every direction to aid his guard in her travels.
♔
he was once more lounging on his favourite set of oyster mushrooms when he was alerted to jinki’s return, mainly thanks to the snuffling inhales of his boar. the whole tree shook faintly and kibum sat up, peering over the mushroom’s edge.
“if she’s looking for truffles, there aren’t any near here,+” kibum called down.
jinki looked up at him and waved, clearly not having understood a word, because he shouted: “she’s looking for truffles!”
the king shook his head, amused. minjeong appeared next to him, riding a gust of air.
“i brought him to you.”
kibum nodded. “i can see that. thank you.”
“i have to go oversee the barley harvest. the mice have been especially unruly this year.”
“ah, yes… please keep me informed of any further developments.”
she bowed and took off, taking her breeze with her. kibum snapped off a piece of bark and used it to keep cool, slowly fanning himself as he continued peering over the ledge. jinki was talking directly into the boar’s ear, but she didn’t seem to be taking much notice. in the end the fae gave up, unfolding his wings and flying up to join kibum on his collection of fungi, settling on a disc a little further down. as he was tucking his wings back against his body kibum realized he hadn’t seen them in motion before. they were a lot larger and more fragile looking than the ones his own people carried; nearly transparent, like those of a dragonfly. jinki must have come from a place further away than kibum initially anticipated. maybe that’s why he didn’t mind mingling with humans.
“your highness,” jinki said, his tone polite and only the slightest bit weary.
“thank you for abiding my request for your return,” kibum responded, and then went back to being silent. jinki shifted, but didn’t appear to be all that uncomfortable. he was sitting on his knees, watching his animal, blinking every time she rammed the tree and caused it to shake. tiny particles of mould were being jostled free, suspended near motionlessly in the oppressive heat. kibum, meanwhile, was studying jinki’s appearance. the more he looked at him, the more it stood out how foreign the other was. he was still wearing the little red irregularities on his forehead and cheeks, and suddenly it clicked for kibum that it had to be some kind of skin condition. he wondered why jinki hadn’t just gone to see a faerie with concealing magic.
maybe those didn’t exist where he came from.
besides, it wasn’t so much his looks - which were pretty common aside from his wings and his hair; and those ugly skin markings, that became more pronounced whenever he smiled; little bumps and ridges, deepening and stretching; they made him so much less striking - but more the way he carried himself that had caused jinki to linger in the ruler’s mind. kibum’s subjects didn’t necessarily dislike him, and minjeong would occasionally be almost cheeky around him, but there was still an overall air of discomfort. he was their king and they respected him, but they never lost sight of what he was capable of. jinki, though, didn’t appear concerned in the slightest.
then why did he come back, kibum wondered, if not out of fear?
they spent another half hour in complete silence. somewhere along the way kibum began sensing jinki was purposefully not addressing the situation, and it annoyed him, and yet speaking up first felt like admitting defeat. down below them the boar had given up her hunt for food and was lying by the water, burrowed part-way into the mud, breathing slowly and evenly. eventually kibum grew bored with the stalemate, getting to his feet and taking off for his apartment.
as soon as he took to the air he felt jinki’s presence behind him, and he turned round, taking in the fae’s wingspan and expression.
“did you change your mind about my buttons?”
“no, they would prove useless here. this community isn’t keen on man-made items.”
“then why did you ask me back?”
“not sure,” kibum replied honestly. he was beginning to dread the fact that they were doing this while flying, because he was still suffering the after-effects of his hangover. “you can leave again, if you wish.”
jinki smiled. this smile was close to the one he’d been wearing the evening before, until minjeong had cut it short.
“will you be coming with me?” he said it like he was confident the king might actually want to.
kibum snorted in disbelief and twirled away, immediately regretting the action when the world kept spinning and a bout of nausea shot through him, temporarily immobilizing him. he let himself float towards the earth like a fall leaf, his expression closed off. he landed on soft earth, the forest floor cool against his heated skin.
when he opened his eyes again, jinki was hovering some way above him. his face was obscured by shadows, aided by the sun shining over his shoulder.
kibum squinted. “remaining airborne in a king’s presence. you’re a rude one.”
“the same could be said for you,” jinki replied, the smile in his voice still there. it was baffling, how little survival instinct this fae seemed to possess.
“excuse me?”
“i don’t think i will,” jinki’s blithe response came.
kibum sat up abruptly, causing the feeling of sickness to increase again. this entire day had been tiring (but almost refreshingly so). “you do realize i could crush you into fine dust, if i felt like it.”
jinki shrugged, appearing unimpressed. “i know. and then what?”
kibum blinked, and then sucked at his teeth in annoyance. “i made a mistake. please leave.”
jinki landed on his feet next to the king, and offered him his hand. “i don’t mean to be rude. but you’re very peculiar. you say one thing and mean another, and you want one thing and claim another.”
kibum ignored his hand, and made no effort to stand. he had no intention of hurling in front of this stranger. he sighed, closing his eyes to focus on the refreshing chill of the ground against his skin. “maybe so. and where would your travels lead to, should i decide to follow you?”
“i don’t know. i could go anywhere, really.”
“you mean, as far as your boar could carry you.”
jinki looked over to where his pig-steed was taking a mud bath, the tenderness in his expression unseen by the ruler, but heard nonetheless. “she’s not mine. she’s part of a clan living in this forest. i asked, and they agreed to send one of their own to take me to the moonly royal market. normally i would have winged it, but i injured my shoulder travelling to this forest. i was blessed to meet them, her family has been very kind to me.”
half of what jinki was claiming made little sense to kibum. wild animals that acted subservient and followed orders? even his harvest mice, which were fully tame, had to be continuously dissuaded from eating what they were harvesting. animals with no training, especially those with low levels of intelligence, had minimal impulse control. suddenly he realized he’d held a market ten metres from a wild boar, one that could easily have gone on a rampage and caused mayhem and destruction. he gave jinki a look of mild disgust, gesturing at him to come closer. “sit with me.”
jinki took a seat next to him, and kibum pushed him to face the other way. “which shoulder did you injure?”
“left one.”
kibum unfolded jinki’s left wing with an experienced gesture, following the frail length of it with his hand several times, and then repeating similar rubbing movements on his shoulder blade. he could hear jinki sighing in relief as the pain lessened.
“you’re skilled at that.”
“i know,” kibum replied, taking hold of jinki’s chin and turning his face towards him so he could place a hand on one of his cheeks. jinki jerked back when he realized what kibum was about to do.
“please don’t,” the long-haired faerie said.
“but-”
“i like it this way.”
“it’s an easy concealing spell,” the king pointed out, “much easier than the one i used on your shoulder.”
“it doesn’t hurt, so i’d prefer it if you left it alone.”
kibum was surprised. faeries were big on symmetry and evenness, their culture and the very workings of their communities often revolved around ideas of aesthetic. so it made no sense that jinki would want to remain blemished. “why?”
jinki stood up, carefully rotating his left wing. “i just like for things to be out in the open.”
“be careful with that wing, it’s-”
“-still injured. yes, i know.”
kibum got to his feet too. “i wasn’t sure if you knew the finer workings of concealment magic.”
the stranger smiled. “my people have worked out ways to conceal entire villages. i’m familiar.”
entire villages? why? and, more importantly, how?, kibum thought, impressed despite himself. “that sounds like a useful skill.”
“i’m sure they’d love to teach you how,” the other said, wearing an easy smile and seemingly reading his mind. “i could take you with me, show you our ways. you wouldn’t be gone for more than two to three moons.”
kibum considered those words. jinki was odd, but his words were invariably spoken with earnestness. he reminded the king a little of minjeong. it helped put him at ease.
kibum tried picturing himself amongst a bunch of unfamiliar faeries, that didn’t know his name or reputation. he pictured utilizing concealment magic on a level he’d never even heard of before. just the thought was invigorating, causing the base of his skull to tingle in anticipation.
he tilted his head, and extended a hand towards jinki. “… i accept your invitation.”
♔
by the next sunrise he had finalized the preparations for the trip, and finished instructing his court. it didn’t take long because minjeong was used to taking up the position of acting regent during his absences, due to the court’s lack of royal relatives. their goodbye had been as it always was: short on words, but filled with humour and mutual fondness. she had refrained from commenting on his plans, except to note that his willingness to learn from a savage like jinki was what made him a great king, probably. he in turn had confided in her that he was amazed by all she’d achieved, because her mind was made of air, after all.
jinki and kibum’s first few days of travel had gone smoothly, despite the continuing heat. jinki still rode the boar, to give his wing plenty of time to heal, and kibum took up flying slightly ahead or slightly behind them. their conversation was minimal because of this, and yet kibum didn’t consider their lack of communication uncomfortable.
not that jinki was all that silent, regularly singing faerietales he’d learned back home. there was the one about an oak faerie who wanted to be a pond faerie, and rotted her home tree to the core, and the one about a snowflake faerie that fell in love with a frog, and froze the tip of the creature’s tongue. kibum enjoyed the pieces of folklore, and bobbed and hummed along once he caught on to their melodies.
on the fourth day the heat was so intense that kibum felt too faint to hum. five fat, blue-and-green glistening flies would not let junebug be, and jinki was less spirited than he’d been in the days before, his voice like slow tree sap as he sang of the frostbitten frog. kibum began intensely wishing he had a snowflake to snack on right now. just then, his companion fell silent, looking upwards.
“something’s brewing, i can taste it. are you noticing this? the air has turned kind of metallic.”
“you’re right, i can taste it too,” kibum replied listlessly and without paying much attention to the words, checking spiderwebs and flower mouths as he flew past them. but despite the air’s increasing moisture levels there wasn’t a drop to be found in them. everything felt stuffy. “do you think we could take a break?”
“you can just ride junebug with me if you’re feeling tired. she’s doing fine.”
“no, thank you,” kibum replied pointedly, regarding the boar with severe apprehension. the summer season meant the animal was not only attracting flies, but also covered in dried mud and fleas, and although the latter generally didn’t attempt feeding on faeries, the king could still clearly see them brushing up against jinki as they moved around. there was a reason he’d never taken to bug keeping.
in the distance the first crack of thunder could be heard.
♔
it had been raining for hours. the flies had long fled, and the king had been forced to land, after being hit by a raindrop large enough to cause him to crash right out of the sky, and was now plodding alongside the boar. at first walking alongside the animal had been fine, and he’d considered it good exercise. but the longer the rain kept falling, the muddier the ground got. his patience had already begun wearing thin, when he got stuck in a mud pool with some finality. he grunted as he flapped his wings to free himself, but they were too soaked to do him much good.
“jinki, can we just take a break,” he growled, one leg sinking away deeper into the mud every time he attempted to free the other. junebug had stopped to watch him and was currently breathing on him, causing his mood to deteriorate even further.
“june won’t want to stay in one place that long, we’ve almost reached her sounder. it’s making her kind of jittery. she can smell them, you see,” jinki pointed out placidly.
“fine!” kibum snarled, finally exasperated. a burst of bright white magic hurled him out of the mud, into junebug’s flank. instead of bouncing off of her the magic stuck to her like glue, dangling for a second before beginning to envelope her completely, causing her to squeal in terror.
“what’s happ-rrnngh!” jinki shouted, his panicked voice turning into a gurgle when the magic surrounded him too, eventually silencing him. the very instant a perfect shell had been formed around the three companions the magic changed quality, no longer translucent, and began responding to the rain falling down on it, its whiteness washing away like chalk. the runes covering kibum, which had glowed brightly as his gift burst forth, went back to being dormant, silver-y and nearly invisible against his skin. jinki was still sitting on junebug’s head, looking shocked and slightly fried. the ground surrounding them was covered in dead fleas.
“what… in the heavens?” jinki uttered, dazed. he leaned forward with empty eyes to pat junebug’s head, to calm her down. it didn’t seem necessary, as the pig was equally out of it, oinking softly as she stared at nothing.
“i didn’t… i didn’t mean to,” kibum said, his voice unsteady as he took in the pair’s state, “i haven’t had an outburst like that in over a century. i’m...” you didn’t kill them. it’s okay. it’s okay.
his companion wasn’t listening to him. “poor creatures,” he murmured, observing the shiny black corpses of the fleas now littering the forest floor. kibum looked at them too, his face emotionless. they had been too tiny to withstand the force of the blast.
after a few moments jinki seemed to snap back into his pragmatic nature, reaching down and offering kibum a hand to climb onto the boar. kibum joined him on the animal, no more protest left in him.
all he allowed himself to think was that he did not regret killing the fleas.
♔
junebug became considerably colder towards jinki after being blasted with kibum’s rune magic, and it was clear she could only tolerate so much more. it was a relief to the king when they reached her sounder and they could leave the pig leg of their journey behind them.
they took up residence in a tree hollow near where the boars lived - climbing the tree rather than flying up, their wings made cumbersome by the rain - and waited for the heavy rainfall to let up. kibum watched as jinki untangled his hair and braided it into a hefty rope, and laid out their outfits and other belongings to dry in a corner of the hollow, to counter the forming of mildew. it felt bizarre to the king, to be so bare among someone he’d known less than half a moon, a fae he only barely trusted. the feeling seemed mutual: it was clear jinki still felt bothered by what had happened, but he didn’t bring it up and so neither did kibum. his travel guide still acted jovial as ever, giving the impression that they were spending their time amicably, but kibum could sense the increased distance between them.
“i know of a family of pigeons near here. i’ll request passage tomorrow.”
“what for? are they in charge of this part of the forest?” kibum asked in mild surprise, having never heard of such a thing. squirrels were the usual suspects when it came to being overly territorial.
jinki blinked at him. “no. i’m hoping they’ll be willing to take us to shore. i left the seagull there, see. theoretically he could have completed this part of the journey too, but he feels uncomfortable leaving the ocean behind.”
kibum was familiar with some of the words, despite the fact that his people rarely used them - like shore, and ocean - having overheard them in conversations amongst seafoam kin. he knew it was where sand came from, which was a popular and well-loved item amongst crafting folk. one of his favourite shirts was made entirely out of hollowed grains of sand, strung together with strands of plant fibre so thin, they were difficult to see.
but he had no clue what a seagull was. it was vaguely unsettling how unknowledgeable jinki made him feel, without even trying. he made a secret vow to himself to memorize all the new elements he was introduced to on this trip, and learn more about them later. it did not cross his mind to ask jinki.
“why are we going there? you’re not saltwater kind.”
“i live beyond the narrow sea.”
kibum’s confusion was growing. beyond the sea? what could be beyond what was limitless? because this was the one thing all sea creatures agreed upon: their home knew no borders.
“can’t we just fly on our own?”
“you’re quite the self-reliant type, aren’t you?” jinki remarked, but his voice was free of judgement. kibum noticed how fast he’d gotten used to jinki’s familiar way of addressing him. “we could, but it would take too long, and more importantly, pose too much risk. birds are stronger and faster flyers than we are.”
“i understand your reasons. i must admit i hadn’t anticipated you living so far away, but it makes sense, considering how different our customs are,” kibum said placidly, acquiescing.
jinki nodded, his gaze lingering. it was uncharacteristic. then he made a face like he’d been chewing on something for a while and had just now worked up the courage to address it. “can i ask… what are those markings on your skin? were you born with them?”
kibum looked down at his arm, at the intricate patterns covering it. they were barely visible in the daylight. he considered agreeing with jinki and leaving it at that, but it didn’t come easy, lying to a face like jinki’s. “… no. the queen dowager ordained them. they were created through the use of revealment magic.”
jinki’s eyes widened. “opposite magic… isn’t that an exceedingly rare skill? and yet you have someone residing at your court who knows how to wield it?”
kibum shook his head, intent on changing the subject. “not currently, no. do you need help with that braid? it’s looking dreadful.”
jinki opened his mouth in happy shock. “look at you, rude as ever. but you’ve caught me,” he admitted, patting his knotty and uneven braid, “someone in town usually does this for me.”
“i will do it for you now.” kibum got to his feet, picking up his leafy garment and finding it dry enough. he pulled it over his head, straightening out the bottom edge by tugging at it. “i will need supplies first, so hold on.”
he climbed out of the opening before jinki could protest, skilfully lowering himself down to the bushes below by gripping edges of peeling bark. he needed a very specific kind of supply, but he knew it had to be growing somewhere nearby because he’d smelled the bush that carried it on their way here. its flowers were pungent, but the leaves contained a milky, oily substance that would serve him well. although only under the current circumstance, because he would never use something as common as plant juice if he had the choice - he had a well-stocked supply of royal jelly for this very purpose back home, produced by the local queen bee herself.
he made good time, returning with several leaves strapped to his back. jinki watched him in silence as he untied the leaves and methodically cut and pressed the sap from them, squeezing drop after drop into a naturally formed dip inside the tree. the hollow filled with a heavy, grassy scent as he worked, one that reminded him of home, and instilled a sense of calm into him. once he’d finished extracting the plant’s life force he gestured at jinki to come sit by the dip.
“it’s for your hair.”
“i got that,” jinki replied as he scooted closer, his tone non-committal. it would appear his people didn’t use plant fluids either.
kibum settled on his knees behind him, undeterred, raking back jinki’s hair and applying handfuls of the milky liquid to it, until he could pull individual strands free with ease. the sap disappeared as he worked, leaving behind a fragrant, slightly glossy coat on his hands and jinki’s hair. once his tresses were tangle-free and easy to work with kibum braided a fishtail braid into them, a hairstyle that had been heavily favoured by both his parents, several centuries ago. he pulled the braid to the front when it was done, resting it over jinki’s shoulder, rounding him to observe his reaction. jinki touched the braid and looked up at him.
“weird. my folk is huge on braiding, so would you believe me if i told you i’ve never seen this braiding technique before?”
“it’s rather old-fashioned. i can take it out again if you don’t like it,” kibum offered, reaching out to undo his work. jinki threw his head back, flicking the heavy braid out of his reach.
“no, it’s alright. um, are you hungry? that one court attendant of yours… teimin?”
“taemin.”
“yeah, that’s the one. he gave us enough nectar to feed four, we should probably get to it before it starts spoiling.”
kibum gladly agreed, because taemin had a keen eye for flowers that would deliver the headiest sugar water, and revolutionary thoughts on flavour combinations. he’d only started his apprenticeship eight moons ago, but was already receiving very favourable reviews from his teachers, who were masters at what they did. kibum had had no clue the young fae had given jinki anything - and it was in fact jinki he had gifted the nectar with, because if he had intended it for the king’s use he would have submitted it through more official channels. he wondered if the distaste felt for faerie folk that associated with humans was not a universally held conviction at his court.
“so… what are humans like?”
jinki shrugged, absorbed by the task of pouring nectar into their travel cups - these made from beechnut casings, making them much sturdier than the delicate ones in use at court. “i only know a handful. they’re alright.”
“are they big?”
his travel companion nodded, carefully holding out one of the beechnuts. it had been filled to the brim, as was custom at kibum’s court, causing the surface to be slightly convex. kibum blinked at the thoughtfulness of the gesture, pressing his lips against the liquid and sipping, slowly diminishing it. “they’re the biggest land creatures i’ve ever seen, aside from bears and panthers maybe. in appearance they’re rather close to us, it’s strange... the first time i saw them i thought i’d fallen into a storybook. they consume dazzling amounts of poison, but i dare say some of their tastes are refined enough to impress even a king like you.”
“they eat poison?” kibum asked, marvelling over such an abnormal habit. he also wondered what a storybook might be.
“yes, they spray it on all their foods, and it goes into their water, and sometimes it rains down on them. and us. it’s where i got this-” he said, pointing at the rash on his cheeks, “-whenever it gets too bad, i know i need some time off, and i go travelling. they also made my tunic, it’s made out of fabric that’s been woven.”
“what is wo-ven?” he pronounced the foreign word carefully, eager to get it right. he had been eyeing jinki’s outfit for most of their journey, but the longer he observed the material, the more mysterious it became. it was smooth and even, almost eerily so, and even repelled water to a certain degree.
“they take tons of fine threads, and put them into a machine, and the machine braids it into this flat cloth. and they have a technique - called dyeing - that allows them to make anything into any colour... i’ve always felt our societies could benefit from these mechanized methods, if we could recreate them somehow.”
kibum frowned. “dying? it sounds risky.”
“it can be! when the machines are automated, or they use poisonous substances to create the colour.”
the king scrunched up his nose - the human lifestyle seemed to include a lot of poison - but jinki seemed wholly undeterred, talking animatedly as he explained more aspects of human day-to-day life to kibum. the king, in turn, listened while sipping his nectar. all that night he dreamed of towering creatures that breathed noxious gases.
Part Two
Pairing: key/onew, key/taemin
Rating: PG
Genre: fantasy
Warnings: none
Final Word Count: 15k
kibum was lying, stretched out, on an oyster mushroom that grew out of the side of his favourite tree. one leg dangled over the edge, his face expressionless as he considered the day’s activities. his hand was travelling across his fitted, knee-length garment in a rhythmic motion, up and down, up and down - it had been crafted out of leaves from the very tree he was lounging on, its texture glossy. today was the day for merchants to come by and present their products to him, and he was making a mental list of the things his people needed, and the things he wanted for himself. it was an easy exercise, because he’d been doing this for a long time. that he was good at it was what made his people tolerant of having him in power; despite, what anyone in polite company would refer to as, his ‘gift’.
when he was growing up, one of the queen’s favourite anecdotes had been about how he’d killed two wet nurses before he’d grown old enough to be able to control the biggest excesses of his capabilities. it had made him cringe every time she told it, because while it was clear that his mother had considered it a sign of his unparalleled and thus divine power, kibum had had no trouble seeing the suppressed horror in the eyes of visitors and court attendants alike.
“my king,” a soft voice came, with a quality of that of a spring breeze, “the merchants have arrived.”
he turned his head towards the court attendant, who was barely visible, her form made up of soft gusts of wind. her outlines only became apparent whenever her body picked up small flurries of pollen and dandelion seeds; unlike the more solid races, her kind didn’t enjoy wearing garments. the majority of his current attendants were wind faeries like her, and a smattering of dew faeries.
it had been a conscious choice on his part. because of their ethereal qualities they were almost impossible to inflect deadly wounds upon. and yet, his mother would have been disapproving of his choice, and of the limited size of his court. she herself had always been in favour of the bigger, burlier faerie races, a firm believer of protection found in physical strength and numbers.
but, she was no longer around to advocate her preferences.
he sat up and opened his wings, inspecting the lower part of one of them and cleaning the delicate surface with a flick of his hand. as much as he enjoyed this tree, it had been growing weak and mossy lately, which meant it kept getting flecks of moss all over him.
“where have they gathered?”
“the faerie circle near the brook. the one that sprang up last week.”
kibum sighed in irritation; it was difficult to do business over the rushing of water. intentional pauses on his part would be overlaid with sound, which meant the merchants wouldn’t be as uncomfortable as he wanted them to be. he had found that haggling tended to go smoother when the other party felt ill at ease.
“have they been brought refreshments?”
“one of the apprentice dew faeries is making the rounds. the brew was especially fragrant this morning, i predict you will find your trading partners in an excellent mood.”
“thank you, minjeong.”
minjeong bowed her head and led the way to the new fairie circle, which kibum hadn’t had time to inspect yet. he was pleased to see it looked beautiful, made up of a rare variety of purple-spored puffballs. in a few weeks, they would grow into abundant sources of food. right now, however, they weren’t purple yet. right now they were still tiny and white, and the perfect size for lounging.
many of the merchants were indeed already resting on them, holding cups plucked from nearby lily of the valleys, while they chatted and inspected each other’s merchandise. taemin, the apprentice faerie who had been given the important task of serving, was filling the cups from a spiderweb pouch slung over his shoulder. the setting sunlight caught the golden hue of the liquid inside the webbing, causing its surface to coruscate every time he moved. in the mornings his kind sparkled in much the same way, when their bodies attracted freshly formed dew drops.
kibum joined the party, settling on an unoccupied mushroom and quietly thanking taemin for his services. taemin responded with a flustered gesture of respect, and quickly went to sit on a mushroom of his own, halting his activities for now. the new responsibility had left him proud and overwhelmed at the same time.
“my dear merchants, thank you for coming. i hope your travels have been safe and pleasant.”
“they were,” a bug faerie responded, her face hidden behind a carved mask, crafted from the head of a praying mantis. kibum briefly admired its intricacy, the beauty of the mantis’ face elevated by the geometric patterns the faerie had whittled into the surface of the creature’s forehead. her wings were covered in something iridescent, most likely beetle dust; merchants tended to wear their fripperies to court, each of them wishing to look finer and wealthier than the next.
the royal faerie was about to open his mouth to invite them to show their wares, when a dull crash sounded behind them. a soft groan spread through the merchants, one that told kibum they knew exactly what had caused that sound. but he did not, and turned his head.
there was another crash, followed by wet snuffling. a boar appeared through the underbrush, its massive mouth gaping and thunderous as it breathed in and out. taemin shifted in his spot, but aside from him no one else seemed particularly phased. boars were clunky but generally friendly towards their kind. kibum was about to give the beast a nudge so it would be on its way, when a harried voice sounded from the top of its head. a figure that had been hidden by the boar’s fur was now clambering down the side of its head, his words slightly muffled because he kept getting boar hairs in his face.
“sorry we’re late! we, uh… puh, puh-! … got lost somehow? terrible luck.”
a dark look from a seafoam faerie nearby made kibum suspect the newcomer getting lost had been anything but an accident. he watched the newcomer jump the last twenty centimetres to the forest floor, and waited patiently as the stranger dusted himself off and removed a coarse boar hair stuck to his chest, and another one from his floor-length hair, which glinted in chestnut hues whenever it caught a ray of sun. kibum briefly wondered why the stranger wore it so wild and long, as it was not the current fashion. his own was cropped short, especially at the sides, showing off the faint markings behind his ears.
even the stranger’s attire was unusual, made out of a very flat pelt that was completely uniform in appearance. it looked like it originated from no animal the king had ever encountered, its colour a striking pale blue.
the boar-rider turned towards his means of transportation, the determined set of his brow showing he meant business. “now, junebug… just as we’ve discussed: go wait by the waterfall. no wandering. and no digging for truffles until i come back, okay? nod if you understand.”
an insulted mutter could be heard from the fairie wearing the mantis mask. kibum suspected she farmed actual june bugs, considering all her bug-related fineries, and did not appreciate the misuse of the name.
once the boar was safely settled upstream, the stranger took a seat on one of the last empty stools on the far edge of the circle. he treated the gathering to a brilliant smile.
“so. what did i miss?”
“nothing,” a nearby faerie hissed.
“welcome, stranger,” kibum interrupted in a calm, but authoritative voice. all eyes turned back to him, some of them squinting because the sun was about to dip below the horizon, casting the scene in blinding hues of red and orange. this was no accident.
he instructed taemin to provide the final merchant with a cup of dew, while raising his hand towards a group of birches nearby, bending the nearest one so that its foliage would provide them with shade. the silence turned from polite to awed as the tree followed the movement of kibum’s arm like a hypnotized snake, and the magic coursing through him caused his natural glow to increase, so that the somewhat hidden markings on his skin became clearly visible, fine white lines racing to cover him in intricate patterns. amongst the faeries that had never attended his court before he heard whispers of ‘so it’s true’ and ‘how dreadful’, and the king felt pleased he’d found a different way to put a sense of discomfort into the group.
when the group had settled down again, a variety of goods were brought before him. some gathered and some created, but all with a fine attention to detail. he purchased some rarer items on the spot, and put in orders for anything he needed in bulk. he could hear taemin sighing in approval when he placed a large order with a local potter.
in the excitement of bidding and bargaining he’d forgotten all about the boar-rider, and his boar - which was sitting still enough that it had become near-invisible in the dusk, too far out to benefit from the soft glow spread by the faeries - until said faerie’s turn came. he made his way to the middle of the circle, and let his backpack fall to the floor with an audible thump, causing several of the fairies to cringe. kibum wondered if he gathered rocks, or something equally indestructible, that he’d feel confident treating his goods so carelessly.
“what is your name, merchant?”
“jinki!” the fae replied, his voice once again becoming muffled as he all but disappeared inside his bag. “i hope you like these, your highness… where did i put the… ah, here!” he reappeared with an excited smile on his face, his hair in further disarray. kibum squinted and leaned in closer, trying to determine what kind of adornment the salesman had put on his cheeks, newly noticing that something was there.
in the faerie’s grip sat a circular object, of a roundness and flatness that reminded kibum of fern spores, but much larger. there were four holes in the middle, so evenly spaced that kibum couldn’t help but feel impressed by the level of skill. he hoped the price wouldn’t be exorbitant. he also hoped he would receive an explanation on the intended use, because he had no clue what it was.
“this, um, is a button? humans make them for their clothes,” jinki explained, correctly interpreting kibum’s empty expression. the same seafoam faerie from before produced a swishing sound that sounded a lot like a groan. “they kind of work like a pin, you push them through the hole on the other- nevermind, that’s not what’s important right now. they’re very useful! i’ve seen folk turn them into chairs and tables and whatnot, and i guess they’d make good wheels, that is, if we used equipment like carts in our society, haha! oh, they’re also pretty good for shelving and work benches, because the holes make it easy to suspend them-”
“i’m sorry, did you say humans?” minjeong interrupted, her voice the wind itself. kibum hadn’t realized she’d been so nearby.
“yeah! see, i’m originally from-”
“you stole this?” she sounded stern, and the king was pleasantly reminded of why he had appointed her head of his guard.
“oh, no no!” jinki refuted, shaking his head furiously. kibum was still staring at his cheeks, subtly turning up the strength of his inner glow so he could see them better. the runes on his body became easier to distinguish the brighter he burned, but he was curious. the merchant’s face appeared to be covered in jewellery, but coarsely ground, and scattered without any sense for symmetry. “i’m friends with a sempstress, and she gives me a couple from time to time.”
“a human sempstress?” minjeong’s voice had grown in force, translating into a gust of wind, and jinki’s long hair flicked into his face. the sounds being made by the other attendants were growing in volume too, their disapproval no longer covert.
“erm,” jinki replied, remaining in his spot. kibum leaned his chin in his hand, observing quietly. he no longer wanted the thing - button - but his interest in the boar-rider had been renewed.
“what else have you gathered, jinki?” he asked, not unkindly.
jinki combed back his hair and cleared his throat, now visibly bothered by the hecklers, his face flushing. kibum wondered if, until now, the fae hadn’t realized that the other travellers didn’t like him much.
“it’s just buttons this time around…”
“humans and their things have no place in this kingdom,” minjeong replied curtly, flicking jinki’s hair back into his face. kibum wondered if she was doing that on purpose, glancing at her fondly. he reverted his attention back to the group at large, straightening his back and speaking with raised arms. he had brightened his glow to the point where the circle was basking in his light, the boar’s eyes glinting in the darkness when it turned its head towards him.
“this concludes the trading portion of the evening. thank you so much for coming, all of you. supper will be provided, and temporary housing for those who wish it. if you have any questions, minjeong-” he extended his hand towards her “-will gladly be of assistance to you.”
the majority of the faeries started gathering up their goods and heading back to their means of transportation, quietly chatting amongst themselves. one of the seafoam faeries unclasped a finely carved seahorse pendant from his neck and touched it to the water of the brook, until a life-sized seahorse emerged, complete with a saddle on its back. a group of wind faeries threw up a piece of bark and clung to it as it swirled out of sight. the faerie with the mantis mask blew softly on the ring she was wearing and drove off on the ladybug that was attracted by it. jinki, too, was packing up again, but the dejected look kibum had expected on his face was not there. only a handful of the guests accepted the offer of supper, following minjeong to a tree nearby, where more court attendants had prepared and set up a meal in a tree hollow.
kibum flew over to the birch he had bent earlier and straightened it back out with measured touches, following the smooth surface of the bark with his palms. far below him he witnessed jinki mounting his boar and settling down on the animal’s head. the salesman set her in motion with a sharp click of his tongue. kibum continued to watch him for a couple of seconds, before turning away and joining his court for supper.
♔
the next morning he woke up unusually late, with a pounding head. the dew faeries had been generous with their mead the night before, and kibum crawled to the edge of the hollow that contained his chambers, breathing a little easier when the cool morning air brushed against his forehead.
“all that magic, and you still can’t hold your liquor. sir.”
he groaned, rolling away from the opening. the fragrant leaves that formed the bedding for his chambers crackled underneath him. “minjeong. shut up, will you?” his inclination towards formalities disappeared when it was just him and her. he only ever called her his guard, but it was obvious to anyone that she was a little more than that. a friend, perhaps.
she flew closer, the rapid movement of her near-invisible wings causing some of the bedding to swirl into the air. under normal circumstances he would have reprimanded her, but the increased air flow felt pleasant against his skin.
“have the guests left yet?” he asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye.
“all but one,” she said calmly. she herself was looking off into the distance, as to not make her king feel embarrassed about his dishevelled appearance.
“who? don’t say the dung beetle faerie.”
“alas.”
the king exhaled. “i would feel a lot less animosity towards that guy if he didn’t insist on smelling like beetle excrement all the time.”
“he says it reminds him of home.”
“which is what,” the ruler scoffed, “a beetle ball?”
“it is very likely.”
kibum groaned, and yet he felt his spirits lifting - minjeong’s bluntness never failed to lift his spirits. he sat up, rubbing his face, trying to get rid of the prickly sensation clinging to his skin.
“will that be all, my king?”
“how do i look?” kibum asked, lowering his hands.
“sickly. will that be-”
“could you fetch me that guy… the guy with the…” he snapped his fingers repeatedly, willing himself to remember- “buttons. bring him here.”
minjeong landed, and he immediately felt too hot.
“the boar-rider? how so.”
“i enjoyed him.” he turned his head so he could fan himself with one of his wings.
“… how so.”
“what does it matter? just do it,” he responded, a little irritably, while going over to his basin to pick up a drop of water. “you can fly like the wind, can’t you? you’ll catch up to him in no time.” he sipped from the drop before pushing his face into it, causing the chamber to look distorted through its surface tension. he blinked before pulling back, just in time to catch the sound of a faint flutter near the tree’s entrance, and when he looked minjeong had gone. he discarded the water, exiting the hollow and flying to the top of the tree, raising his arms in the air and blowing faintly in every direction to aid his guard in her travels.
♔
he was once more lounging on his favourite set of oyster mushrooms when he was alerted to jinki’s return, mainly thanks to the snuffling inhales of his boar. the whole tree shook faintly and kibum sat up, peering over the mushroom’s edge.
“if she’s looking for truffles, there aren’t any near here,+” kibum called down.
jinki looked up at him and waved, clearly not having understood a word, because he shouted: “she’s looking for truffles!”
the king shook his head, amused. minjeong appeared next to him, riding a gust of air.
“i brought him to you.”
kibum nodded. “i can see that. thank you.”
“i have to go oversee the barley harvest. the mice have been especially unruly this year.”
“ah, yes… please keep me informed of any further developments.”
she bowed and took off, taking her breeze with her. kibum snapped off a piece of bark and used it to keep cool, slowly fanning himself as he continued peering over the ledge. jinki was talking directly into the boar’s ear, but she didn’t seem to be taking much notice. in the end the fae gave up, unfolding his wings and flying up to join kibum on his collection of fungi, settling on a disc a little further down. as he was tucking his wings back against his body kibum realized he hadn’t seen them in motion before. they were a lot larger and more fragile looking than the ones his own people carried; nearly transparent, like those of a dragonfly. jinki must have come from a place further away than kibum initially anticipated. maybe that’s why he didn’t mind mingling with humans.
“your highness,” jinki said, his tone polite and only the slightest bit weary.
“thank you for abiding my request for your return,” kibum responded, and then went back to being silent. jinki shifted, but didn’t appear to be all that uncomfortable. he was sitting on his knees, watching his animal, blinking every time she rammed the tree and caused it to shake. tiny particles of mould were being jostled free, suspended near motionlessly in the oppressive heat. kibum, meanwhile, was studying jinki’s appearance. the more he looked at him, the more it stood out how foreign the other was. he was still wearing the little red irregularities on his forehead and cheeks, and suddenly it clicked for kibum that it had to be some kind of skin condition. he wondered why jinki hadn’t just gone to see a faerie with concealing magic.
maybe those didn’t exist where he came from.
besides, it wasn’t so much his looks - which were pretty common aside from his wings and his hair; and those ugly skin markings, that became more pronounced whenever he smiled; little bumps and ridges, deepening and stretching; they made him so much less striking - but more the way he carried himself that had caused jinki to linger in the ruler’s mind. kibum’s subjects didn’t necessarily dislike him, and minjeong would occasionally be almost cheeky around him, but there was still an overall air of discomfort. he was their king and they respected him, but they never lost sight of what he was capable of. jinki, though, didn’t appear concerned in the slightest.
then why did he come back, kibum wondered, if not out of fear?
they spent another half hour in complete silence. somewhere along the way kibum began sensing jinki was purposefully not addressing the situation, and it annoyed him, and yet speaking up first felt like admitting defeat. down below them the boar had given up her hunt for food and was lying by the water, burrowed part-way into the mud, breathing slowly and evenly. eventually kibum grew bored with the stalemate, getting to his feet and taking off for his apartment.
as soon as he took to the air he felt jinki’s presence behind him, and he turned round, taking in the fae’s wingspan and expression.
“did you change your mind about my buttons?”
“no, they would prove useless here. this community isn’t keen on man-made items.”
“then why did you ask me back?”
“not sure,” kibum replied honestly. he was beginning to dread the fact that they were doing this while flying, because he was still suffering the after-effects of his hangover. “you can leave again, if you wish.”
jinki smiled. this smile was close to the one he’d been wearing the evening before, until minjeong had cut it short.
“will you be coming with me?” he said it like he was confident the king might actually want to.
kibum snorted in disbelief and twirled away, immediately regretting the action when the world kept spinning and a bout of nausea shot through him, temporarily immobilizing him. he let himself float towards the earth like a fall leaf, his expression closed off. he landed on soft earth, the forest floor cool against his heated skin.
when he opened his eyes again, jinki was hovering some way above him. his face was obscured by shadows, aided by the sun shining over his shoulder.
kibum squinted. “remaining airborne in a king’s presence. you’re a rude one.”
“the same could be said for you,” jinki replied, the smile in his voice still there. it was baffling, how little survival instinct this fae seemed to possess.
“excuse me?”
“i don’t think i will,” jinki’s blithe response came.
kibum sat up abruptly, causing the feeling of sickness to increase again. this entire day had been tiring (but almost refreshingly so). “you do realize i could crush you into fine dust, if i felt like it.”
jinki shrugged, appearing unimpressed. “i know. and then what?”
kibum blinked, and then sucked at his teeth in annoyance. “i made a mistake. please leave.”
jinki landed on his feet next to the king, and offered him his hand. “i don’t mean to be rude. but you’re very peculiar. you say one thing and mean another, and you want one thing and claim another.”
kibum ignored his hand, and made no effort to stand. he had no intention of hurling in front of this stranger. he sighed, closing his eyes to focus on the refreshing chill of the ground against his skin. “maybe so. and where would your travels lead to, should i decide to follow you?”
“i don’t know. i could go anywhere, really.”
“you mean, as far as your boar could carry you.”
jinki looked over to where his pig-steed was taking a mud bath, the tenderness in his expression unseen by the ruler, but heard nonetheless. “she’s not mine. she’s part of a clan living in this forest. i asked, and they agreed to send one of their own to take me to the moonly royal market. normally i would have winged it, but i injured my shoulder travelling to this forest. i was blessed to meet them, her family has been very kind to me.”
half of what jinki was claiming made little sense to kibum. wild animals that acted subservient and followed orders? even his harvest mice, which were fully tame, had to be continuously dissuaded from eating what they were harvesting. animals with no training, especially those with low levels of intelligence, had minimal impulse control. suddenly he realized he’d held a market ten metres from a wild boar, one that could easily have gone on a rampage and caused mayhem and destruction. he gave jinki a look of mild disgust, gesturing at him to come closer. “sit with me.”
jinki took a seat next to him, and kibum pushed him to face the other way. “which shoulder did you injure?”
“left one.”
kibum unfolded jinki’s left wing with an experienced gesture, following the frail length of it with his hand several times, and then repeating similar rubbing movements on his shoulder blade. he could hear jinki sighing in relief as the pain lessened.
“you’re skilled at that.”
“i know,” kibum replied, taking hold of jinki’s chin and turning his face towards him so he could place a hand on one of his cheeks. jinki jerked back when he realized what kibum was about to do.
“please don’t,” the long-haired faerie said.
“but-”
“i like it this way.”
“it’s an easy concealing spell,” the king pointed out, “much easier than the one i used on your shoulder.”
“it doesn’t hurt, so i’d prefer it if you left it alone.”
kibum was surprised. faeries were big on symmetry and evenness, their culture and the very workings of their communities often revolved around ideas of aesthetic. so it made no sense that jinki would want to remain blemished. “why?”
jinki stood up, carefully rotating his left wing. “i just like for things to be out in the open.”
“be careful with that wing, it’s-”
“-still injured. yes, i know.”
kibum got to his feet too. “i wasn’t sure if you knew the finer workings of concealment magic.”
the stranger smiled. “my people have worked out ways to conceal entire villages. i’m familiar.”
entire villages? why? and, more importantly, how?, kibum thought, impressed despite himself. “that sounds like a useful skill.”
“i’m sure they’d love to teach you how,” the other said, wearing an easy smile and seemingly reading his mind. “i could take you with me, show you our ways. you wouldn’t be gone for more than two to three moons.”
kibum considered those words. jinki was odd, but his words were invariably spoken with earnestness. he reminded the king a little of minjeong. it helped put him at ease.
kibum tried picturing himself amongst a bunch of unfamiliar faeries, that didn’t know his name or reputation. he pictured utilizing concealment magic on a level he’d never even heard of before. just the thought was invigorating, causing the base of his skull to tingle in anticipation.
he tilted his head, and extended a hand towards jinki. “… i accept your invitation.”
♔
by the next sunrise he had finalized the preparations for the trip, and finished instructing his court. it didn’t take long because minjeong was used to taking up the position of acting regent during his absences, due to the court’s lack of royal relatives. their goodbye had been as it always was: short on words, but filled with humour and mutual fondness. she had refrained from commenting on his plans, except to note that his willingness to learn from a savage like jinki was what made him a great king, probably. he in turn had confided in her that he was amazed by all she’d achieved, because her mind was made of air, after all.
jinki and kibum’s first few days of travel had gone smoothly, despite the continuing heat. jinki still rode the boar, to give his wing plenty of time to heal, and kibum took up flying slightly ahead or slightly behind them. their conversation was minimal because of this, and yet kibum didn’t consider their lack of communication uncomfortable.
not that jinki was all that silent, regularly singing faerietales he’d learned back home. there was the one about an oak faerie who wanted to be a pond faerie, and rotted her home tree to the core, and the one about a snowflake faerie that fell in love with a frog, and froze the tip of the creature’s tongue. kibum enjoyed the pieces of folklore, and bobbed and hummed along once he caught on to their melodies.
on the fourth day the heat was so intense that kibum felt too faint to hum. five fat, blue-and-green glistening flies would not let junebug be, and jinki was less spirited than he’d been in the days before, his voice like slow tree sap as he sang of the frostbitten frog. kibum began intensely wishing he had a snowflake to snack on right now. just then, his companion fell silent, looking upwards.
“something’s brewing, i can taste it. are you noticing this? the air has turned kind of metallic.”
“you’re right, i can taste it too,” kibum replied listlessly and without paying much attention to the words, checking spiderwebs and flower mouths as he flew past them. but despite the air’s increasing moisture levels there wasn’t a drop to be found in them. everything felt stuffy. “do you think we could take a break?”
“you can just ride junebug with me if you’re feeling tired. she’s doing fine.”
“no, thank you,” kibum replied pointedly, regarding the boar with severe apprehension. the summer season meant the animal was not only attracting flies, but also covered in dried mud and fleas, and although the latter generally didn’t attempt feeding on faeries, the king could still clearly see them brushing up against jinki as they moved around. there was a reason he’d never taken to bug keeping.
in the distance the first crack of thunder could be heard.
♔
it had been raining for hours. the flies had long fled, and the king had been forced to land, after being hit by a raindrop large enough to cause him to crash right out of the sky, and was now plodding alongside the boar. at first walking alongside the animal had been fine, and he’d considered it good exercise. but the longer the rain kept falling, the muddier the ground got. his patience had already begun wearing thin, when he got stuck in a mud pool with some finality. he grunted as he flapped his wings to free himself, but they were too soaked to do him much good.
“jinki, can we just take a break,” he growled, one leg sinking away deeper into the mud every time he attempted to free the other. junebug had stopped to watch him and was currently breathing on him, causing his mood to deteriorate even further.
“june won’t want to stay in one place that long, we’ve almost reached her sounder. it’s making her kind of jittery. she can smell them, you see,” jinki pointed out placidly.
“fine!” kibum snarled, finally exasperated. a burst of bright white magic hurled him out of the mud, into junebug’s flank. instead of bouncing off of her the magic stuck to her like glue, dangling for a second before beginning to envelope her completely, causing her to squeal in terror.
“what’s happ-rrnngh!” jinki shouted, his panicked voice turning into a gurgle when the magic surrounded him too, eventually silencing him. the very instant a perfect shell had been formed around the three companions the magic changed quality, no longer translucent, and began responding to the rain falling down on it, its whiteness washing away like chalk. the runes covering kibum, which had glowed brightly as his gift burst forth, went back to being dormant, silver-y and nearly invisible against his skin. jinki was still sitting on junebug’s head, looking shocked and slightly fried. the ground surrounding them was covered in dead fleas.
“what… in the heavens?” jinki uttered, dazed. he leaned forward with empty eyes to pat junebug’s head, to calm her down. it didn’t seem necessary, as the pig was equally out of it, oinking softly as she stared at nothing.
“i didn’t… i didn’t mean to,” kibum said, his voice unsteady as he took in the pair’s state, “i haven’t had an outburst like that in over a century. i’m...” you didn’t kill them. it’s okay. it’s okay.
his companion wasn’t listening to him. “poor creatures,” he murmured, observing the shiny black corpses of the fleas now littering the forest floor. kibum looked at them too, his face emotionless. they had been too tiny to withstand the force of the blast.
after a few moments jinki seemed to snap back into his pragmatic nature, reaching down and offering kibum a hand to climb onto the boar. kibum joined him on the animal, no more protest left in him.
all he allowed himself to think was that he did not regret killing the fleas.
♔
junebug became considerably colder towards jinki after being blasted with kibum’s rune magic, and it was clear she could only tolerate so much more. it was a relief to the king when they reached her sounder and they could leave the pig leg of their journey behind them.
they took up residence in a tree hollow near where the boars lived - climbing the tree rather than flying up, their wings made cumbersome by the rain - and waited for the heavy rainfall to let up. kibum watched as jinki untangled his hair and braided it into a hefty rope, and laid out their outfits and other belongings to dry in a corner of the hollow, to counter the forming of mildew. it felt bizarre to the king, to be so bare among someone he’d known less than half a moon, a fae he only barely trusted. the feeling seemed mutual: it was clear jinki still felt bothered by what had happened, but he didn’t bring it up and so neither did kibum. his travel guide still acted jovial as ever, giving the impression that they were spending their time amicably, but kibum could sense the increased distance between them.
“i know of a family of pigeons near here. i’ll request passage tomorrow.”
“what for? are they in charge of this part of the forest?” kibum asked in mild surprise, having never heard of such a thing. squirrels were the usual suspects when it came to being overly territorial.
jinki blinked at him. “no. i’m hoping they’ll be willing to take us to shore. i left the seagull there, see. theoretically he could have completed this part of the journey too, but he feels uncomfortable leaving the ocean behind.”
kibum was familiar with some of the words, despite the fact that his people rarely used them - like shore, and ocean - having overheard them in conversations amongst seafoam kin. he knew it was where sand came from, which was a popular and well-loved item amongst crafting folk. one of his favourite shirts was made entirely out of hollowed grains of sand, strung together with strands of plant fibre so thin, they were difficult to see.
but he had no clue what a seagull was. it was vaguely unsettling how unknowledgeable jinki made him feel, without even trying. he made a secret vow to himself to memorize all the new elements he was introduced to on this trip, and learn more about them later. it did not cross his mind to ask jinki.
“why are we going there? you’re not saltwater kind.”
“i live beyond the narrow sea.”
kibum’s confusion was growing. beyond the sea? what could be beyond what was limitless? because this was the one thing all sea creatures agreed upon: their home knew no borders.
“can’t we just fly on our own?”
“you’re quite the self-reliant type, aren’t you?” jinki remarked, but his voice was free of judgement. kibum noticed how fast he’d gotten used to jinki’s familiar way of addressing him. “we could, but it would take too long, and more importantly, pose too much risk. birds are stronger and faster flyers than we are.”
“i understand your reasons. i must admit i hadn’t anticipated you living so far away, but it makes sense, considering how different our customs are,” kibum said placidly, acquiescing.
jinki nodded, his gaze lingering. it was uncharacteristic. then he made a face like he’d been chewing on something for a while and had just now worked up the courage to address it. “can i ask… what are those markings on your skin? were you born with them?”
kibum looked down at his arm, at the intricate patterns covering it. they were barely visible in the daylight. he considered agreeing with jinki and leaving it at that, but it didn’t come easy, lying to a face like jinki’s. “… no. the queen dowager ordained them. they were created through the use of revealment magic.”
jinki’s eyes widened. “opposite magic… isn’t that an exceedingly rare skill? and yet you have someone residing at your court who knows how to wield it?”
kibum shook his head, intent on changing the subject. “not currently, no. do you need help with that braid? it’s looking dreadful.”
jinki opened his mouth in happy shock. “look at you, rude as ever. but you’ve caught me,” he admitted, patting his knotty and uneven braid, “someone in town usually does this for me.”
“i will do it for you now.” kibum got to his feet, picking up his leafy garment and finding it dry enough. he pulled it over his head, straightening out the bottom edge by tugging at it. “i will need supplies first, so hold on.”
he climbed out of the opening before jinki could protest, skilfully lowering himself down to the bushes below by gripping edges of peeling bark. he needed a very specific kind of supply, but he knew it had to be growing somewhere nearby because he’d smelled the bush that carried it on their way here. its flowers were pungent, but the leaves contained a milky, oily substance that would serve him well. although only under the current circumstance, because he would never use something as common as plant juice if he had the choice - he had a well-stocked supply of royal jelly for this very purpose back home, produced by the local queen bee herself.
he made good time, returning with several leaves strapped to his back. jinki watched him in silence as he untied the leaves and methodically cut and pressed the sap from them, squeezing drop after drop into a naturally formed dip inside the tree. the hollow filled with a heavy, grassy scent as he worked, one that reminded him of home, and instilled a sense of calm into him. once he’d finished extracting the plant’s life force he gestured at jinki to come sit by the dip.
“it’s for your hair.”
“i got that,” jinki replied as he scooted closer, his tone non-committal. it would appear his people didn’t use plant fluids either.
kibum settled on his knees behind him, undeterred, raking back jinki’s hair and applying handfuls of the milky liquid to it, until he could pull individual strands free with ease. the sap disappeared as he worked, leaving behind a fragrant, slightly glossy coat on his hands and jinki’s hair. once his tresses were tangle-free and easy to work with kibum braided a fishtail braid into them, a hairstyle that had been heavily favoured by both his parents, several centuries ago. he pulled the braid to the front when it was done, resting it over jinki’s shoulder, rounding him to observe his reaction. jinki touched the braid and looked up at him.
“weird. my folk is huge on braiding, so would you believe me if i told you i’ve never seen this braiding technique before?”
“it’s rather old-fashioned. i can take it out again if you don’t like it,” kibum offered, reaching out to undo his work. jinki threw his head back, flicking the heavy braid out of his reach.
“no, it’s alright. um, are you hungry? that one court attendant of yours… teimin?”
“taemin.”
“yeah, that’s the one. he gave us enough nectar to feed four, we should probably get to it before it starts spoiling.”
kibum gladly agreed, because taemin had a keen eye for flowers that would deliver the headiest sugar water, and revolutionary thoughts on flavour combinations. he’d only started his apprenticeship eight moons ago, but was already receiving very favourable reviews from his teachers, who were masters at what they did. kibum had had no clue the young fae had given jinki anything - and it was in fact jinki he had gifted the nectar with, because if he had intended it for the king’s use he would have submitted it through more official channels. he wondered if the distaste felt for faerie folk that associated with humans was not a universally held conviction at his court.
“so… what are humans like?”
jinki shrugged, absorbed by the task of pouring nectar into their travel cups - these made from beechnut casings, making them much sturdier than the delicate ones in use at court. “i only know a handful. they’re alright.”
“are they big?”
his travel companion nodded, carefully holding out one of the beechnuts. it had been filled to the brim, as was custom at kibum’s court, causing the surface to be slightly convex. kibum blinked at the thoughtfulness of the gesture, pressing his lips against the liquid and sipping, slowly diminishing it. “they’re the biggest land creatures i’ve ever seen, aside from bears and panthers maybe. in appearance they’re rather close to us, it’s strange... the first time i saw them i thought i’d fallen into a storybook. they consume dazzling amounts of poison, but i dare say some of their tastes are refined enough to impress even a king like you.”
“they eat poison?” kibum asked, marvelling over such an abnormal habit. he also wondered what a storybook might be.
“yes, they spray it on all their foods, and it goes into their water, and sometimes it rains down on them. and us. it’s where i got this-” he said, pointing at the rash on his cheeks, “-whenever it gets too bad, i know i need some time off, and i go travelling. they also made my tunic, it’s made out of fabric that’s been woven.”
“what is wo-ven?” he pronounced the foreign word carefully, eager to get it right. he had been eyeing jinki’s outfit for most of their journey, but the longer he observed the material, the more mysterious it became. it was smooth and even, almost eerily so, and even repelled water to a certain degree.
“they take tons of fine threads, and put them into a machine, and the machine braids it into this flat cloth. and they have a technique - called dyeing - that allows them to make anything into any colour... i’ve always felt our societies could benefit from these mechanized methods, if we could recreate them somehow.”
kibum frowned. “dying? it sounds risky.”
“it can be! when the machines are automated, or they use poisonous substances to create the colour.”
the king scrunched up his nose - the human lifestyle seemed to include a lot of poison - but jinki seemed wholly undeterred, talking animatedly as he explained more aspects of human day-to-day life to kibum. the king, in turn, listened while sipping his nectar. all that night he dreamed of towering creatures that breathed noxious gases.
Part Two