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The Jeon family was human. There were no supernatural relatives noted in stories, pictures or videos; no inklings or suspicions of magic ancestors in the past. As far back as anyone could remember, the family had always been just plain human.
That is, until Jungkook was born.
Of course, no one knew at first. He seemed like a normal infant and child. Perhaps Jungkook was little more shy than others his age, sure, but that was just a personality trait. There was nothing to suggest he was any different than his family, nothing to differentiate him from his older sibling, Junghyun; he played with his toys, showed interest in things he considered new, stuck plenty of thing in his mouth that didn’t belong there - all very normal things for a young child.
It was when he turned twelve that things changed.
For a project in Jungkook’s middle school writing class, each student had been given a packet with an assignment to do over the weekend. They had to pick an animal from any of those listed on the first two pages. After making their choice, they filled in a sheet with some requested information that they had to research, such as where their animal lived and what it ate. Once that was done, they had to write a page-long story about that animal.
Namjoon, Junghyun’s best friend, had visited Saturday morning, and when he and Junghyun got out their homework, Jungkook had followed them like a shadow, setting up his materials on the opposite end of the table.
Many of the animals he could have chose from were interesting: lions, African elephants, warthogs, okapis, bison. But as cool as they were, whenever Jungkook had tried to imagine a tale with them, nothing had came to mind.
But a certain cotton-tailed creature had.
It’d taken him a moment, but he’d eventually confirmed that a rabbit was indeed on the list. So after politely asking his father’s permission to use the family computer, Jungkook had looked up and transferred the typed information he needed into writing on his page. He returned to the table once he was finished, settling back into his seat, the sound of his hyungs not-so-quiet whispering and laughing floating from across the table.
With his rabbit info splayed out beside him for reference and a blank sheet of notebook paper before him, pencil posed at the ready, Jungkook had closed his eyes and thought his story out.
He needed to imagine himself as the bunny, he’d decided, if he wanted the story to really be good. He needed to be small and fluffy, with brown - no, grey! - fur, and a twitching nose and big, long ears that poked out of the grass.
He’d imagined the way wind would brush through his fur, and the movement of his ears twisting and jerking from one direction to the next, and the tension caused by a scrunching nose, and - oh.
The room had gone startlingly silent.
Jungkook opened his eyes to see the table top reaching above his eye level.
And when he’d sat up, the motion unfamiliar but not too difficult, he was met with two huge teenagers with wide, shocked eyes.
“Mom!”
Both of Jungkook’s parents had come barreling in at the sound of Junghyun’s earnest cry, only to be completely stumped by the sight of a rabbit of all things in their dining room. But there’d been no reason to doubt Junghyun’s claims of Jungkook suddenly morphing, not when Namjoon stuttered the same story.
In the end, the four of them had awkwardly shuffled into a witch’s shop. After being changed back into a human and not a fuzzy creature, the story of what had actually happened was relayed to the witch, who gave them a diagnosis with an amused chuckle: Jungkook was an animal shifter.
✶
Things were simultaneously easy and hard after that.
It wasn’t like Jungkook’s family turned against him - no, they supported him and made sure he knew they were there for him. But at the same time, his parents never made any clear effort to help him.
He couldn’t blame them; having their seemingly human child be revealed to be, well, not human was disorienting. But being put in contact with an older shifter or a summer camp for young, budding supernaturals would have surely been helpful on his self discovery journey.
Instead, Jungkook came to rely on Namjoon.
Jungkook often forgot the elder was supernatural. Just sitting beside him, you’d never guess that he was more than human. It was only something you’d discover through conversation.
Namjoon was a keeper. Anything he learned, whether it be through hearing, reading or doing, was stored in his head like a mental library, filed and organized neatly by his mind. You could ask him anything, and he’d likely have an answer and explanation for you. And if he didn’t, he was more than enthusiastic to go out and research to learn something new.
He was the only supernatural person Jungkook had close interaction with in his early life, and with the brunet’s powers and assistance, Jungkook finally started to learn about himself and his own capabilities as he grew older.
✶
Animal shapeshifting consisted of three steps.
The first was to decide on a target to change into. It was by far the easiest step. After all, it was simply a matter of choosing what you want to become. Simple as that.
The second step was to picture the animal. With an internet search of images, Jungkook could make a clear image in his mind. Oddly enough, he also found that it helped to research other things, like body structure or behaviors.
The third and last step was imagining being the target. Jungkook quickly found this step easier said than done.
Imagining a, say, border collie, was simple. But imagining himself as one was a bit harder. Jungkook had to put himself into the shoes - paws? - of his target.
Even as he reached adulthood, Jungkook’s favorite, easiest and fastest shift was a rabbit. All he had to do was quickly picture a bunny - brown, white, grey, whatever - and remember sensations, like the feeling of hardwood floors under soft paws or the way his jaw moved when he snacked on green treats. The shift just came naturally after that. And if he didn’t like how he looked? All he had to do was picture another fur pattern, color, or breed, and his current one would slowly melt into it.
Jungkook had spent his first year in only that form. It had taken some time, but he’d eventually started to branch out into other small animals such as mice, hamsters, lizards and even small birds. The first time he flew, he got disoriented with the odd change and smacked into a door. Namjoon had put him on bedrest for the rest of the day, but the next day they went right back to trying again.
After he’d struggled with but managed a cat form, Jungkook attempted to go bigger a couple of times - to shift into medium sized dogs, even tried an otter. But for some reason, it was hard. He pictured and imagined like he had with all the other shifts, yet bigger shifts never came easily. He’d get close, and then his body would backpedal and he’d lose his progress.
So Jungkook stayed in his comfort zone, trying a variety of different tiny creatures. Snakes, frogs, ferrets, hedgehogs. When Seokjin got his witch familiars, three sugar gliders, Jungkook had taken the time to learn to shift into those as well, and experiment with the fur colors and patterns he could manage. (That day had turned embarrassing real quick thanks to an awkward first meeting with a certain young witch, but Jungkook couldn’t bring himself to repress the memory. He’d eventually gotten a wonderful boyfriend out of the experience, after all.)
He’d stayed in his box for years, and finally, Jungkook started getting kind of bored.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like being small. No, being tiny had its advantages. He was small enough for shoulder perching, and he could cuddle up to Taehyung’s chest and neck when they napped together. He could fit in tight spaces, which was perfect for surprise attacks on ankles. All in all, small animal forms had their perks.
But he wanted to be able to perform larger, more impressive shifts. He wanted to try wild dogs and big cats and other large animals.
It wasn’t just about proving it to those around him. It was also about proving it to himself that he could grow and improve and become even better.
Which is how he ended up at the park at 2 AM.
Standing in the middle of the grassy area surrounded by trees, Jungkook glanced around anxiously. He was going to shift bigger, so he’d had to take his clothes off to avoid ripping through them, which meant he was standing naked in the middle of the park. That, plus the fact that it’d be embarrassing to fail a shift or, worse, get stuck mid-shift in front of a stranger, had him looking around in paranoia despite knowing Taehyung had set up a illusion charm around him to protect his modesty.
Taehyung, a little sleepy eyed but smiling, perched on the bench behind him. His duffel bag of herbs and supplies sat dropped by his feet in case the change went wrong, but Taehyung hardly seemed concerned. His eyes also never went any lower that Jungkook’s face, and the younger felt a appreciative fondness stir in his chest.
“I’m gonna go big. Like, bigger than a dog big. By a lot, hopefully,” he finally announced.
“Alright.”
Jungkook faltered. “You don’t look worried at all.”
Taehyung just smiled. The witch stood, wandering over until he could slide his arms around Jungkook’s waist, pulling him just a little bit closer so they could rest chest to chest, eye to eye. “You’ll do fine,” he murmured, voice slow and reassuring. “And even if it doesn’t work out, I’m right here. I’ve always got you.”
Jungkook let himself relax in the elder’s hold, comfortable in his touch. “Yeah,” he whispered, “you’ve got me.”
They broke apart after a quick peck, Taehyung tracking his way back to the bench with that same warm smile.
“This is gonna be a warm up,” the younger clarified as he got himself ready, shaking out his hands anxiously. “I’ve done this form... twice, I think?”
Taehyung hummed in agreement. His eyes never strayed away.
Shifting his feet into a comfortable position, Jungkook closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And he imagined.
He pictured a lean, thin body, with abnormally long, lanky legs, and the somewhat bushy tail that fell only halfway down said legs. He thought about the ridiculously large ears that stood tall over a fox-like face. He visualized the fur - monarch orange all over, with a white tail tip and ‘bib’ on the throat right under the head, with black framing it, and black ‘socks’ and along the back of the shoulders.
And then he imagined all that as him himself.
He imaged the odd gait he’d walk with, and the feeling of the twisting of his sensitive ears. He thought about the strange proportions of his body, remembering how off yet natural they felt.
He could feel the shift happen. It was quick, painless and hard to track with the eyes, not like the human population seemed to believe. No, it happened in a matter on three or four seconds. Fur grew quick along Jungkook’s skin and his bones moved into their new places and new limbs sprouted and - that was it. Fast and fluid.
He opened his eyes to Taehyung’s wide-eyes and smile.
“What are you?” the man gasped, his eyes twinkling in delight as Jungkook trotted over, shoving his muzzle against the witch’s hand with a high pitched, happy whine. Fingers circled his big ears, scratching at the base, and Jungkook’s tail started to wave as Taehyung laughed above him.
Jungkook gave himself a minute or two to enjoy touches before stepping a few paces back and shifting again. “A maned wolf,” he explained when he met the elder’s curious eyes again. Taehyung smiled, mumbling a small ‘you were beautiful.’
Jungkook did not blush. He didn’t.
He rolled his shoulders, nibbling on his lower lip. “Alright,” he murmured, “I’m gonna try the big one now... Wish me luck?”
The elder gave him an encouraging smile. “Get ‘em, Kookie. You got this.”
And so just like before, Jungkook took a deep, slow breath. And he imagined.
He pictured a broad, maned chest and neck that sat in the front of a large, bulky body, and the strong but contradictorily spindly legs that held it up. He thought of the russet brown color of the fur, the tear drop shaped ears, the long face that rounded at the end, and the crown of bones that’d hover above the head.
He imagined the weight of that crown. He thought about how every deep inhale would feel, filling his large chest with oxygen. He thought about the way the wind would feel blowing through his hair, especially where it grew thicker along his throat. He imagined how tall he’d stand on such shockingly thin yet powerful legs.
He could feel the shift start - could feel knobs growing again his head, could feel his legs start to slim. The transformation seemed to stutter for a second and Jungkook worried he’d lose it and have to retry, but the change continued its wave of adjustments and then-
Tall.
Jungkook was tall. Taehyung had jumped up in his shock, and Jungkook saw just over the top of his boyfriend’s head. With the addition of his high-reaching antlers, he towered over the witch.
Taehyung crept closer, his lips parted as he stared. Jungkook kept his head up, scared that if he dropped it, his crown of bones would hit or cut the elder.
When he was close enough, Taehyung reached his hand out and laid it on Jungkook’s cheek. He let out a disbelieving laugh. “So majestic,” he whispered near teasingly.
Jungkook let out a huff. He let his hyung’s hands trail down from his face to his chest, fingers dipping into the thick mane there. “This form is so ginormous, Jungkook. You’re, like, twice my size. Maybe even three times, honestly.” The boy pulled back from admiring Jungkook’s pelt, looking into his dark eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”
Jungkook felt his chest tighten with pride. He lowered his head just enough to nuzzle at Taehyung’s cheek.
He’d been trying so hard to improve his skills. He’d failed and gotten stuck and had days to where he just didn’t have the energy to try when it felt like he wasn’t getting anywhere. And he knew he’d fail a hundred times again. But being right there, with Taehyung looking at him like he’d just hung the moon to end an eternity of bleak dark nights and the buzz of self-accomplishment right under his skin, Jungkook knew all the struggle and turmoil was worth it.