title: fire (a strange and magical place)
fandom: monsta x
pairing: ot7, side!minhyuk/hyungwon, side!changkyun/his pony
warnings: light swearing
genre: fantasy!au
first installment in my monsta x fantasy!au, bc i kinda need a break from all these depressing wips i've got going on, and every good fandom needs a fantasy au.
the drabbles/one-shots will not be posted chronologically and are largely unrelated, though they may occasionally reference incidences or characters from other installments. if the timing is of relevance to the content, i will indicate this in the author's note.
i wasn't going to include a list of the boys and their background/skills, as hope the relevant points will come across in the story, but if it becomes too confusing i'll give a brief list.
on pairings: I enjoy this ot7 so much i have a hard time separating ships, but i may add some with time. the only reason i added minhyuk/hyungwon already is because i could literally ship minhyuk with the moon bc he is a baby, so this is mostly to rein myself in.
also: not too much jooheon and kihyun in this chapter, but they are gonna be so prominent in future installments that i believe this is excusable.
please enjoy, don't forget to leave a comment if this au appeals to you!
“So I have a suggestion,” Hoseok says as they stop by a small stream to refill their waterskins. No one pays him any heed, except for Hyunwoo, who raises his eyebrow briefly to urge him on. ”We’re not going to make it to Rhinvale tonight, so how about we just find a nice spot around here to make camp? Summer will be over soon, we might as well enjoy the last warm days before the weather turns.”
“The elf is right,” Minhyuk quips and sits down heavily as Hoseok scowls in his general direction. “I quite like it here. Idyllic, and all.”
“No ale, though,” Jooheon points out, but there’s not enough disappointment in his voice to be taken seriously. “Kihyun, I don’t suppose you could - “
“No,” Kihyun is shaking his head before Jooheon has even had the chance to finish his request. He hands a exchanges a waterskin with Changkyun, who is trying to lure their pony to the stream for a sip. “I can’t endorse magic ale because it will never be as good as the real deal, and I’d rather preserve the dream in my head than settle for a second-rate option.”
“Hey, I can make some - “
“No Minhyuk, the stuff you concoct is not ale, it’s poisonous water. You’re a shit mage.”
“Excuse you - “
“Kids, please,” Hyunwoo sighs and looks at the unruly group. Sometimes he doesn’t understand how it is possible to be so exasperated and fond simultaneously. He chalks it up to brilliant multitasking skills.
“Who are you calling a kid?” Hoseok snorts at Hyunwoo. “I’m at least 700 years older than you - “
“Hasn’t Hyunwoo been in two wars recently?” Minhyuk ponders out loud. “I don’t remember you doing anything - “
“Because unlike you uncivilized humans, us elves don’t fight all the time - “
“All of my experiences with you contradict that statement - “
Hyungwon tugs at Minhyuk’s sleeve softly to get his attention. It shuts him up like a charm, and he looks at Hyungwon expectantly, but Hyungwon is looking at Hoseok instead.
“Don’t listen to Minhyuk,” he says quietly, but the mischievous glint in his eyes is plain for everyone to see. “He’s just scared he’ll be wrinkled and ugly when he’s 700.”
Hoseok falls to the ground with a hearty laugh, but Minhyuk looks scandalized and shifts away from Hyungwon with a betrayed yelp.
“Hyungwon, I thought you were on my side!” He wails. “And when I’m 700 I’m gonna be dead and buried for quite a few centuries, because humans kind of don’t turn 700, you imbeciles! We die!”
At this point Hyunwoo enlists Jooheon to help him forcibly separate them long enough to send the group searching for an appropriate campsite. He stays behind in a comfortable and refreshing silence with Changkyun, whose attention is mostly focused on the dark brown pony he stupidly let Hyungwon name ‘Baby’ because he thought it was a young foal due to its short height. No one had the heart to point out the silly name back then, and he thinks it has grown on Changkyun, if nothing else.
Then again. He’s pretty sure the youngest traveller is just generally smitten with the pony and everything that comes with it.
He kind of knows the feeling.
Jooheon returns with the most promising spot, a scuffed little corner further upstream with remains from previous campers, including a couple of big logs and a circular stone arrangement suitable for a small fire. They all agree it is one of their most fortune resting places as of late, partially shielded by a large oak with thick leaves and long branches, and close enough to the river that they can use as much water as they would like.
Even Minhyuk and Hoseok seem to share an opinion on their little site.
It doesn’t take long to unload their packs and set up the essentials around the fireplace, and Baby the pony sighs appreciatively as the heavy load is separated from her back. Changkyun pats her fondly before starting to brush out some of the sweat and knots from a long day’s march.
“I hope I can find someone who looks at me like Changkyunnie looks at his pony some day,” Hoseok remarks wryly as he puts down some dry wood between the rocks. “They’re easily the most romantic couple I’ve ever seen.”
“700 years of competition, washed away by a boy and his pony,” Jooheon laments, settling down next to his backpack. “What a sad and loveless world we live in. I can’t even imagine - “ he cuts himself off with a startled yelp as a twitching fish falls into his lap.
Kihyun chuckles as he walks past, looking infinitely pleased with himself. “Jooheon, for a thief, you’re so easy to surprise. Are you sure you’re as sneaky as you say?”
“Well, you see, the thing about thieves is that we usually do the sneaking.” Jooheon wrinkles his nose and tosses the fish at Hyungwon, who doesn’t even blink before starting to gut the fish. “Also, I thought I was amongst friends. But I see I’m mistaken.”
“You said it yourself, this really is a loveless world,” the mage shrugs with a smile. “Hyunwoo is still fishing, but we need some more firewood as well. Care to join me?”
“I’d come, but Hyungwon is teaching me how to prepare fish,” Minhyuk says quickly and tries to cover Hyungwon’s surprised face with his hand. “Sorry. Busy. Very important.”
Since no one expected anything else, no energy is wasted on a single eyeroll.
“I’ll come,” Jooheon grunts. He makes his best old man impression as he slowly stands up and grabs at his back. “Oh god, I’m too old for this.”
“You’d be the youngest if we didn’t have Changkyunnie,” Hoseok reminds him. “I am the only one who can use that phrase rightfully.”
“Not really,” Minhyuk clicks his tongue. “Because if I’m not wrong, in elven years, you’re practically the equivalent of a prepubescent - “
“You know what, I’ll come collect firewood as well!” Hoseok takes off after Kihyun and Jooheon while Minhyuk falls over cackling.
Hyungwon looks down at him, unimpressed and only faintly amused. He will never quite understand the dynamic between Minhyuk and Hoseok. They bicker and argue more than any of them, but they are always the first to come to each other’s aid whenever an outsider tries to put them down. It makes him a little jealous, that kind of effortless relationship. It is true that he and Minhyuk are close, but compared to how Minhyuk interacts with their other companions, it almost seems like he holds himself back a little when it comes to Hyungwon. Hyungwon isn’t sure if he appreciates it or not.
“Sit up, please,” he says and smacks Minhyuk’s leg when he doesn’t move to get up from the ground. “If you’re going to use me as an excuse to get out of work the least you can do is watch.”
Minhyuk sighs loudly, almost like a whine, but obeys nonetheless. Hyungwon smiles a little.
“Don’t complain, you could’ve had it worse.”
“Yeah, well, watching you tear a fish inside out isn’t exactly my definition of great regardless of how deceptively dainty your fingers are,” Minhyuk shrugs with a pout.
“Is that a compliment?”
“Everything I say to you is a compliment, Wonwon.”
“Ew, stop it you two,” Changkyun comes over and gives Minhyuk an offended look. “That’s disgusting.”
“At least I’m not serenading a horse,” Minhyuk shoots right back. “Also, you’ll get a new opinion on disgusting after you watch this fish dissection. It’s kinda gross.”
“I grew up on a farm, you noldus,” Changkyun does actually spare the energy for an eyeroll. “I’m used to worse stuff than this. Also, she’s a pony.”
“What the hell is a noldus?” Minhyuk asks Hyungwon, but he is too busy stringing the fish around a long stick to dignify his enquiry with a response.
Priorities.
Hyunwoo eventually comes over with a new fish before returning to his spot by the river, and Hyungwon dissects it as easily as the first (“You sure you don’t want to try?” “Get that thing away from me, it has eyes!”) while the two others watch.
Despite the gentle weather of the late summer days, the cold creeps upon them earlier for every passing day, and though it is still sunny, it doesn’t take long before the company starts to feel the temperature dropping. Minhyuk, who hung up his cloak earlier to let it dry after an unfortunate incident with a swamp earlier that day, feels the cold most keenly, and looks at the fireside longingly. Kihyun, Jooheon and Hoseok have not returned with more kindling, but they have enough to start a small fire already. It is not going to be enough to roast dinner on, but it will provide them with some heat while they wait.
“Are you guys feeling the chill as well, or is that just me?” Minhyuk asks eventually.
Changkyun just looks at him, but Hyungwon’s expression morphs into one of concern.
“Are you cold? You can borrow my cloak, I - “
“No, no, that’s not useful at all,” Minhyuk shakes his head and takes Hyungwon’s hands away from the clasp of his thick woollen cloak. “You’ll get cold even quicker than me, and it’s not going to get any warmer from now on. “I was just thinking, maybe we should start a fire.”
“Oh.” Hyungwon looks down at Minhyuk’s hands, still holding his own.
Dainty. That was the word he used. Dainty
Minhyuk’s fingers are smaller, delicate-looking and unworn by labour the same way that Hyungwon’s are, but they tingle with a warmness that isn’t entirely natural.
“I suppose we could, but we don’t have any flint,” Changkyun muses. “And Kihyun’s not back yet, so we can’t magic anything - “
“I’m a mage too,” Minhyuk remind him. “I can do it.”
“We really should wait for Kihyun - “
“Just look at this!”
Before he even has a chance to react, Hyungwon watches with unease as Minhyuk tears his hands out of his grip and waves at the fireplace in a huge, sweeping motion while mumbling under his breath.
Predictably, it doesn’t go well.
The small amount of wood in the stone centre catches on fire, yes - but so does Hoseok’s blanket, one of the sitting logs and a large patch of grass next to Changkyun as well.
And Changkyun’s hair.
“Minhyuk!” Changkyun screeches and grabs a handful of dirt to dab at the fire. He was only hit by a small spark, and manages to asphyxiate the small flames quickly, but not without burning his hand in the process.
Hyungwon jumps up as the fire from the log erupts near his knee, but Minhyuk can do nothing but stare dumbly at the ruckus. Things progress quite quickly after that. Hyungwon and Changkyun attempt to stamp out the fire by the campsite while Hyunwoo, who must have heard the commotion, comes running with a blanket drenched in water that he promptly tosses over the burning patch of grass. It’s not quite big enough and doesn’t quench all of it, but it helps stop the spread for a while. Halfway through their efforts, Changkyun notices Baby’s frightened whinnies, and runs over to keep the unbound horse from bolting.
Minhyuk is still, unhelpfully, pondering where the hell he went wrong with that spell.
Hyungwon is just happy he managed to keep the fish out of harm’s way.
“Minhyuk,” he says carefully once they have put out most of the unfortunate fire, and Minhyuk gives him such a forlorn look that he almost bites back his words. Almost. “This is why we wait for Kihyun.”
Hyunwoo nods in agreement, but gives Minhyuk’s head a small pat as he walks back to his fishing spot once more. “You tried.”
“MINHYUK!” Changkyun growls angrily as he leads Baby over by the bridle, still stroking her neck softly to calm her down. “You! Are! A! Shit! Mage!”
“Ah, that’s the sweetest melody I’ve ever heard,” Hoseok’s voice comes from behind them, and a second later he appears with an armful of short branches and roughly cut wood. “What did he do now? And how sorry do I have to be for missing it?”
“You’re quite lucky you weren’t around,” Changkyun fumes. “Can’t you smell the burning? Apparently kindling two sticks isn’t enough for this overpowered mage.”
“Hey,” Minhyuk pouts up at him, ignoring Hoseok’s jabs. “Be respectful towards your elders, junior.”
“You gave given me literally nothing to respect besides age.”
“Oh my god, I love this kid,” Hoseok chuckles as he dumps his load at the edge of their camp. “So he torched all of this in order to… Make the campfire?”
“Pretty much,” Hyungwon confirms, and Minhyuk gives him another betrayed look. “And Changkyun’s hair.”
“This is the best,” Hoseok keeps laughing. “Kihyun! Jooheon! Hurry, you’ll want to see this.”
“Coming, coming! Stop running ahead, you elf.”
“Stop being a slow mortal,” Hoseok shoots back into the shadows of the forest and crosses his arms.
The two redheads appear soon enough, taking in the campsite with matching confused looks - Minhyuk’s pouty crouch, the half-scorched log, Changkyun’s indignation, and Hyunwoo’s blanket spread across the grass. Jooheon sniffs once before turning his face away with a grimace. “What happened here?”
“Minhyuk set fire to the camp and Changkyun.”
“He did what?!” Kihyun immediately drops his the wood and hurries up to Changkyun. He finds the small burn near his temple, and after a quick exchange with the youngest, the blisters on his hand. He doesn’t have any innate healing powers, but his satchel with healing herbs and salves are luckily close at hand. Changkyun reluctantly lets go of Baby as Kihyun forces him to sit down, muttering to himself all the while.
“What the hell did you do, Minhyuk,” he grits out under his breath, and Minhyuk isn’t sure if the other mage expects him to answer, so he chooses not to.
Hoseok isn’t ready to let it go, though.
“Out of curiosity,” he starts with a slow smirk. “Me being just a mere elf and all… How do you aim for the fireplace over here… And somehow hit the patch of grass behind you?”
“I don’t expect mere elves to understand,” Minhyuk huffs. “But magic is hard. And channelling it is a fine balance between summoning and controlled outlet - “
“I can’t listen to this,” Kihyun groans and leans over from Changkyun’s side and to the fire. With just the slightest motion of his fingers, the tiny flames practically jump from the wood and into his palm, and he rolls it around almost playfully as the others watch. It doesn’t seem to harm him in the slightest, and when he flicks his wrist once more the fire spreads out across the kindling again.
“This is proper magic, you bossel.”
“Why does everyone keep calling me names I don’t understand?”
“To be fair though,” Hyungwon says carefully. “Kihyun is kind of a prodigy, right?”
“Yeah, and Minhyuk is kind of shit,” Jooheon agrees dryly. “If only you had a charming personality to compensate.”
“Hyungwon, please save me from all these savage people,” Minhyuk groans and clasps Hyungwon’s hands again. “I don’t appreciate all this ganging up on a poor defenceless soul.”
“And we don’t appreciate being set on fire,” Changkyun retorts and high-fives Kihyun with his uninjured hand.
“Okay, yeah, that was a bit unfortunate. I apologize for that.”
“See, he does have some redeeming qualities.”
“Hyungwonie, you really need to learn how to be on someone’s side in an argument.”
“And you really need to learn how to control your magic.”
Minhyuk lets out a keening noise and falls to the ground behind the offended log. Hyungwon sits down next to him and pats his head, but Minhyuk refuses to get up until Hyunwoo arrives with more fish and they actually start cooking dinner. Hoseok keeps laughing the rest of the night, but Hyunwoo is nice enough to give him a disapproving look whenever he brings up the fire verbally.
“He knows he messed up” he argues. “You don’t have to rub it in.”
Hoseok raises his arms in surrender, but they all know this isn’t the end of it.
Especially when Hoseok discovers his blackened blanket next to the equally burned log.
“My vengeance will be swift and unexpected,” he promises Minhyuk, who is conveniently seated between Hyungwon and Hyunwoo for the rest of the night.
Changkyun and Kihyun give him disapproving looks throughout dinner as well, their eyes narrowing in twin expressions that Hoseok once nicknamed the ‘midget glare’, but at least Minhyuk is able to ignore them when they are seated on the other side of the fire. Besides, Kihyun is too busy fussing over Changkyun and Changkyun is too busy being fussed over to pay him any proper attention.
Jooheon doesn’t care enough about all this drama to give him more than one amused look.
To compensate for his mishaps, Minhyuk volunteers to take the first watch. This may also be partially because he is afraid of any immediate retribution, but he sees no reason to point this out.
Instead, he hugs Hyungwon good night and watches his companions settle down around the remnants of the fire. He’ll keep it going through the night, just enough to provide some heat, but not enough to disturb the sleepers. The flames flicker and burn shyly between the stones, and throw a soft glow on the people gathered around it. Minhyuk is the only one still upright, leaning against the biggest log with his feet crossed before the fire.
He looks around.
Hyunwoo sleeps on his back on the other side of the fire, wrapped in his cloak since his blanket hasn’t dried from the fire earlier, but he looks comfortable enough. From what Minhyuk can see, anyway - his face is turned the other way, but his body is relaxed and Minhyuk can see the rise and fall of his chest even from a distance. He knows it is to be expected; as a former soldier, Hyunwoo has slept in far worse conditions than just a blanketless summer night.
Hoseok is curled up on his side beside Hyunwoo’s legs, also covered by a cloak rather than blanket, and has moved closer to the fire to make up for it. His face is mostly buried in his arms, and it’s a position that looks awkward at best to Minhyuk’s eyes, but he supposes elves are more flexible than humans. Maybe it's alright for him?
Something that does not look comfortable, however, is the bundle of Jooheon, Kihyun and Changkyun a bit further out. It is kind of difficult to tell how their tangle works, since the only discernible parts of them as individuals are the tufts of hair sticking out from the blankets. They make a funny sight, with Jooheon’s red blending into Kihyun’s softer auburn, and finally Changkyun’s mixture of darker brown. Minhyuk can’t tell who’s leaning on who, but as long as it all works, he supposes it’s alright.
Baby makes a sound in the distance, as if she agrees with his internal assessments.
She probably does. She is an intelligent horse.
He lifts his hand from where it’s carding through Hyungwon’s hair to look at his own palm. Unmarred, pale, maybe slightly sinewy.
He thinks about Hyungwon’s hands.
Then he thinks about Changkyun’s burned hand.
And then at Kihyun’s hands.
He can’t lean forward without jostling Hyungwon, so he stays put, but he keeps his hand up and stares at the fire burning behind it. He isn’t useless, he knows he isn’t.
Minhyuk brings his hand closer to his chest and takes a deep breath. One more. One more.
Then he closes his fingers into a loose fist and whispers something softly. Opens his hand.
Much to his disappointment, it’s still empty.
He frowns a little, and closes his hand again. More firmly this time, like he is actually sending power through his fingers and into his palm. He closes his eyes as well, takes another deep breath and repeats his mumbled words.
When he opens his hand, there is a tiny flame flickering for a whole of three seconds before it dies out.
Minhyuk smiles to himself.
- also known as the chapter in which minhyuk is the eternal buttmonkey
- yes i did name the pony after the fandom because i don't give enough fucks
- this is one of those chapters that somehow became five times longer than it was supposed to be i literally just meant to introduce the characters and say hi