Chapter Text
Lee Minho was having a terrible morning, thank you very much for asking. Not that anything bad in particular had happened yet, he just felt annoyed at the world.
He had woken up hungry, and after a lengthy consultation with his stomach, had finally pulled himself out of his comfy, squishy armchair and immediately felt the absence of its warmth in his very soul. His molecules had been pleasantly welded to the cushions, snuggled under a knitted green throw, but now - the cold darted around the cramped study, nipping at his ears and bare feet. A single sunbeam crawled in through the dusty rust-colored curtains of the attic, making his discarded glasses glint on the floor.
Hm, he must've left them there when he fell asleep last night.
He stretched lazily, arms out in front of him, not unlike the furry form he had taken on while snoozing in his study chair. His desk was heaped with books and documents, everything was open and in progress, but nothing was finished. Uncapped pens and precariously positioned ink bottles were strewn across the surface of his precious research journals, which were still smeared with tiny inky fingerprints- but he couldn't find it in himself to care.
He looked around the airy attic, still unwilling to leave it. It seemed to take his stomach's side though, opening the windows and letting the chilly autumn morning in. Minho blinked, struggling to break out of his daze as his mind still wandered back to thoughts of darker times and the longing for flecks of laughter that made them glimmer.
Today was the anniversary of that day, after all - a day whose memory chilled him to his core, making his stony heart rattle painfully in his chest.
This was precisely why he preferred staying in cat form. Stripped of his magic, the talisman was one of the few enchanted things he had left. Other than the house of course, which seemed bent on expelling Minho from itself, leaving him at the mercy of the elements.
"You really are too hard on me, you know," he said, swinging the squeaky attic door back and forth.
And forth and back.
And back and forth.
The door suddenly slammed shut, trying to take Minho's fingers with it- then slammed open again when he managed to get them out of the way in time. He cackled, tilting his head back and patting the temperamental trapdoor.
His laugh echoed through the silent house, trapped like the aerosols suspended in the early morning rays.
"All right, all right I'll quit moping and get the groceries I get it," he said, making his way downstairs. Ignoring the seven doors hanging ajar on the first floor, he darted into his room as quickly as possible, grabbing his coat and rushing out into the hall. The coat rack handed him a thick padded jacket, which he pushed back.
"It's not that cold you know," he snorted, reaching for a black wooly sweater with a grey pawprint knitted into it and wrapping it around himself. A gift, and his favorite thing for chilly mornings.
Facing the outside world was his least favorite thing, his once-a-monthly grocery trips were an exception to his indoor lifestyle. His houseplants never went outside and they were flourishing, just feeding off the light and the vibes. Why should he have to go outside, ugh.
He stepped onto his porch, squinting, as the door slammed shut behind him. He scoffed, tucking his chin into his scarf, starting to jog down the street. He might as well make this quick.
An hour or so later, he'd gotten everything he'd need to feed several people for a good, long while- no more grocery trips for him for a bit at least. He'd gotten pretty good at ordering food for himself anyway, so cooking wasn't a problem but other supplies existed apparently. And he'd found an absolutely adorable new toy for Soonie, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
He considered using his house keys to summon a door instead of walking to where his house was currently staying- but it wasn't exactly stealthy- and at what cost? The last time he'd done it after the Elders had sealed his magic away, he'd heard enough creaking and groaning and slammed windows that he couldn't get a single night's sleep until he gave in and got a new carpet for the living room.
Seriously, his house was an utter diva- he couldn't imagine where all the pettiness had come from, he definitely didn't put it in the initial spell for giving it a personality back when he was thirteen.
He smiled at the memory, deciding that the chance to stretch his legs wasn't so bad after all, as he drifted down the tree-lined streets.
He had cast that spell when he'd first moved out of his coven, into an old house in the woods. Since he'd found his soulmates pretty early on, he didn't hesitate to follow the custom that his community had- and moved out. Plus the rest of his coven mates were soulmates too, so it was about time he got his own place.
He really hadn't expected the place they picked out for him to be that deep in the woods though- or that close to their own place. He had rolled his eyes, turning to his hyungs.
"Seriously? I told you guys I was going to the city," he groaned at a beaming Hoseok, who looked entirely too pleased with the situation.
"You can make it non-traceable you know, or move it around, whatever you want after learning the spells- you're a witch after all kiddo," Suga pointed out, chuckling at his frown.
"Plus you'd need a place big enough for all you guys, wouldn't you?" asked Taehyung, eyes wide and a bit too innocent for the mischief glittering in them. "It has eight rooms- one for each of you, so it's perfect!"
Minho groaned loudly, rolling his eyes. He hadn't actually found all eight of them yet- but the two he had found were looking at the place with wonder in their eyes. Of course they'd love it, thought Minho, still a bit grumpy- but mostly fond. Seungmin and Jisung had been a bright spot in his life ever since they'd stumbled into it, literally.
They had taken to wandering out deep into the woods and one day, Jisung tripped over where Minho was napping in the grass. Seungmin had immediately apologized for his friend's clumsiness and Minho couldn't find it in himself to be mad at them somehow- he had felt a wave of contentment settle into his soul as soon as he had seen them.
It was better than sunbeams.
Though Seungmin had morphed into his true gremlin state as soon as they got familiar enough- so Minho definitely blamed him for the house's pettiness. All his soulmates had contributed, little by little to the spell keeping the place intact. Its every particle was infused with their touch, starting with the spell that was its foundation and personality. And even if he couldn't go into their rooms anymore, he felt their presence in every part of it.
The doors would close quieter on days he had headaches and the sheets would smooth out on his bed on days he couldn't make it himself. Sometimes he'd be reading for hours without knowing, and the chair would pull him over to the balcony to get some air. The windchimes would tinkle and chitter without a breeze when he tripped, laughing at him before helping him up. And some days the care was more aggressive, like this morning when he'd been all but kicked out to go get food for himself.
Sometimes their specters felt alive enough for him to think they were back.
Minho halted, suddenly standing stock still on the corner of his street. His limbs, losing their feeling, his breath stolen from his lungs. His mind buzzed and the frigid air stung his eyes till he clenched them shut, trying to prevent the usual, clawing onslaught of grief that nostalgia brought him.
A scream rang out through the air- clear and shrill, breaking him out of his stupor.
It was coming from one of the narrow alleys that seemed a bit too common in his part of town- since it was a bit of a patchwork of buildings. Most of the shops on his street had the owners living upstairs, having moved there at some point or another, fall's warm palette smattered on their doorways and awnings being the only thing the buildings had in common.
He rushed over, not thinking about what he would find there or how he was supposed to deal with it- the scream was too familiar for his comfort. A figure rushed out of the alley as soon as he came close, nearly bowling him over, stuffing whatever it had stolen in its coat pockets and bolting in the opposite direction to Minho.
He barely hesitated though, running towards the victim, who was lying prone on the hard concrete floor, a pool of blood was rapidly growing beneath him. Minho dumped his groceries down, opening a door to his house with the key that hung on his necklace along with the cat talisman. Bright blue light washed over the two in the alley, cutting through the gloom and finally casting the victim's features in relief.
Minho's breath caught in his chest, and chucked the grocery bags into the hall, gathering the boy into his arms and stepping into the house as quickly as he could.
His soul was dark and hollow, tainted with panic as he clutched the boy close- but a part of it was singing.
Because it was Seungmin, who'd somehow found him again.
Think of the devil, huh.