blue sky post here | twitter thread here | ao3 link here

taegi | 1.6k words | witches, tae is a green spirit, vague found family

Taehyung shivers, chilled to the bone even though the sun still shines overhead. Sunset isn’t for a few hours, but the sun’s rays do little to warm Taehyung’s soul.

It’s been this way for several years, Taehyung steadily losing internal warmth as his soul remains untethered. He left after several years of no longer feeling at home with his own kind, and has wandered in search of a new home.

He’s made a few stops along the way, but they were temporary, often never meant to hold a green spirit like him.

Now, he trudges down the slope, eyes cast on the ground to push himself forward step by step. It’s hard, especially with the chill that wraps around him, tangling with the exhaustion that’s grown the longer he goes untethered.

Taehyung gasps with the next step, an intense warmth rushing over him. He looks up, blinking back the tears that come to his eyes as the warmth surges through him, chasing out the iciness that made its home in his bones. The sun no longer feels like a mockery as it dances across his face, and Taehyung lets out a long sigh.

A tall hedge comes into view when he drops his gaze from the sky, but his feet keep him rooted in place as the warmth continues to ripple through him. It brings a renewed wave of exhaustion, the hedge now looking like a nice place to rest for a little while.

Taehyung takes deep breath, then a step forward, eyes widening when he realizes the warmth has stayed with him. He lets the corners of his lips lift, still hesitant to celebrate this early, and walks the rest of the way until he stands right in front of the hedge.

He all but melts into the foliage with a sigh, feeling safe enough to shift into his spirit form for the first time in years. It’s more difficult to hold since he’s still tired, but it’s nothing a few hours of sleeping here between these leaves can’t fix.

His breath hitches when he registers a distant whisper, realizing that one of the neighboring plants is communicating with him. The tears from earlier return, a few making it down his cheeks this time. It’s the first time in years since he’s heard one of his own.

“Hello, sweetlings.”

The whispering grows, followed by a few others, calling out in excitement to the green spirit.

This time, Taehyung does smile through wet cheeks, nodding and whispering back before his exhaustion wins. The whispers swirl around him now, soothing him and blanketing him with the warmth that’s persisted. Taehyung hums, relaxing into the hedge as he lets his eyes slip shut and falls asleep.

—

It’s completely dark when Taehyung’s eyes snap open hours later, a new chill hanging over him and the world around him deathly still.

“Come out, green spirit,” a low, gravelly voice commands from beside him. “I know you’re awake.”

Taehyung hesitates, wondering if would be better for him to slip back the way he came. His soul cries at the thought, so he forces himself to pull his spirit form together and step out to face the voice that calls him.