bsky post here | twitter thread here | ao3 link here

Great forest spirit, guide my hands and my magic. That I may—

Yoongi slowly opens his eyes, the whispers of those familiar words disappearing with the tendrils of sleep. As his senses gradually wake, the coolness of the earth under him seeps into his fur and Yoongi trembles slightly. The branches that are wrapped around him sway under the gust of wind that ripples through the forest, causing him to shiver again.

He closes his eyes in an attempt to sleep again, but it evades him. Eventually, he opens his eyes again, reluctantly untucking himself from the ball he’d curled into to sleep. A low purr leaves his throat as he stretches, paws digging into the earth and his back arching before he settles back on his legs.

He can feel the forest stirring awake beyond the branches wrapped around him, and he carefully pushes out some of his energy to coax them to unfurl. The cool morning air settles over him as they spread wide, and Yoongi almost calls the branches back.

Instead, he lets his energy caress them in thanks, then pads out from under the tree into the forest. It’s still mostly dark, but he knows the sunrise will be soon.

Yoongi treks to the nearby lake, his favorite place to be in the mornings. It’s where he can take in the way the sun’s light reflects across the water. He smiles and purrs every so often as quiet greetings are whispered through the leaves, the flowers waving their petals as he pads past them. Even the plants on the farthest edge of the forest say hello, filling Yoongi with enough warmth to no longer feel the morning chill.

Finally, he reaches the lake, sitting back on his paws, his tail flicking behind him in the silence. In the water, a few of the fish come to the surface, teasing him to play with energy he doesn’t have yet this early. Still, he indulges them, rumbling lowly. The ghost of a smile comes to his face when the fish dart back then forward again and the water ripples around them as the lake joins in.

It goes on like this, Yoongi casually playing with them as light slowly fills the space. Red, pink and orange hues dance across the water as a gentle breeze ripples through the space, ruffling his fur. More greetings swirl across the leaves, the forest growing more and more awake as the sun rises in the sky, warming the earth.

Alright, Yoongi tells the lake and its residents. It’s time for me to go.

The fish wriggle in protest, urging the forest spirit to stay, to play, and Yoongi laughs as he lets out one final purr before standing and padding away.

It’s a routine he’s built over the years, content to walk between the trees and check in with the inhabitants of his forest. The herd has just welcomed a few new fawns, a new type of flower blooms on the edges of the river, one of the frogs has moved to a different lake because it liked the water there better, while one of the trees is now home to a new family of ravens.

As the forest spirit, Yoongi is aware of everything that happens.

Though he has the trees to thanks, the little gossips. It proves to be a point of contention for some of the forest’s inhabitants, wanting to share their news with Yoongi on their own, but the trees are quick to giggle and whisper loud enough for Yoongi to hear between their leaves.

He’s since given up on admonishing them for their nature.

He pauses under one of his favorite trees near the center of the forest, this one having been around for several hundred years — almost as long as he has. The guardian zelkova groans in greeting as Yoongi settles between it’s roots, curling into himself as the afternoon sunlight spills between the branches.

Yoongi loves every part of the forest, and there several corners that he loves to relax in. But he’s most content to rest at the heart of the forest, beneath the guardian tree. He often spends several days resting under the zelkova while conversing with the wildlife and other trees nearby.

Now, as he settles under the tree, the words from his dream drift back to mind. A low hum leaves him as the words push him down a road of memories he rarely dwells on, of times long gone, when witches were still in existence.

During that time, after their coming of age, witches would come to the forest in a simple pilgrimage to the now abandoned shrine. There, they would offer the forest spirit — Yoongi — a gift, followed by a prayer for him to guide their hands and their magic as they stepped into the next part of their life as a witch.