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This happens the day before the full moon, when Jimin has brushed his teeth, put on his new pajama with the print of his favorite computer game, and didn’t even protest getting ready for bed at nine in the evening, all the while quietly crafting a plan to learn an old legend from his secretive mom. He even went so far as to be tidy and put away his toys before bed time—all to get her in a good mood in advance.
Still, it seems his mom doesn’t buy into such cheap tricks.
She can be very stubborn sometimes, just like Jimin.
"But Mo-o-om," whines little Jimin on the bed, wrapping his arms around Mom’s waist and keeping her from walking away. "Tell me! Kai already knows and he keeps teasing me with it! I want to know too!"
Mom chuckles, standing in the vice of his arms by the bed. Jimin nuzzles his cheek against the silky fabric of her blouse, using this simple trick to curry favor with her, and she responds by ruffling his hair.
"It's too early for you, pup,” she counters with that serious, motherly expression she always makes when reminding him of his age. “This legend is for the young hunters who are going to join the clan on the Blood Moon tomorrow," Mom softly tries to unlock his hands, but Jimin clings to her even tighter.
"But Mo-om," he looks at her pleadingly. It always works when he's in his wolf form, so Jimin makes a bold guess that it should work when he's in his human form too. "Please? Please, please, ple-e-ease… Please," he tries his best to make his eyes water to look more pathetic.
Mom sighs as she stops trying to free herself from his grip.
"Kai's parents don't follow traditions, do they?" she sighs, mildly annoyed. "They seem to be telling him more than they should."
“Just one story, Mom!” Jimin pleads, pouting his lips to soften her up. "I'll fall asleep right after, I promise!"
Mom snorts, not believing his pleading eyes for even a drop. Then, a sly smile lifts the corners of her lips.
"And what do I get for it?" she asks, her eyes glinting with a playful twinkle.
Okay, looks like Mom is up for a bargain.
Jimin is one step closer to his goal.
"I will wash my dishes all week!" he solemnly swears.
His mom hums, not looking too impressed by his suggestion.
"And I'll help you cook dinner," Jimin ups the ante, carefully watching her expression.
"Hmm," Mom muses, but it doesn't sound like a deal. More like she has something on her mind. "How about you apologize to Taemin for biting his paw yesterday instead?" she offers.
Jimin makes a face, expressing protest with his whole demeanor.
"It's his own fault he got into a fight," he pouts, stubborn.
"That doesn't excuse you hitting him," Mom gently brushes a strand of hair from his forehead and raises an eyebrow. Jimin can clearly read the rebuke in her tone. "Do you think that's what makes wolves strong?"
“It's not because I'm stronger than him,” Jimin frowns and loosens his grip on his mom's waist a little. "That's because he's a brat."
"And your innate beta status gives you the right to beat him up?" Mom presses, making Jimin feel guilty. She lowers her hands, no longer touching him.
“If I apologize to him, it’ll lower my authority,” Jimin feels trapped. His mother is sometimes so ignorant. As if Taemin's mom making a fuss and telling him off in front of the other kids wasn't enough to humiliate Jimin.
"Oh really?" Mom snorts. "I didn't know Taemin recognized you as an authority."
"He didn't," Jimin growls quietly, "and that's why I showed him his place."
"Or," Mom slowly but surely loosens the grip of his hands behind her back, "the opposite happened. By hurting Taemin, you not only lowered your authority in his eyes, but also showed everyone else how weak you are."
Jimin freaks out, his eyes growing wide.
"What? What do you mean?" he frowns, going over the other boys' reactions in his memory. None of them looked like they thought he was a weakling.
There was fear. He could see fear in their eyes and something else... evaluation? Jimin thinks they were sizing him up.
"True power lies in the willingness of others to follow you," his mother tells him seriously, sitting down on the bed next to him. "A good leader is one who commands respect and leads others with responsibility and dignity befitting his status. Can you call yourself a good leader for Taemin?” She raises her eyebrow. “Does he have any reason to respect you?”
"Well... Why does he have a reason? I'm older than him and he’s an omega. He must obey me,” Jimin insists with a frown on his face.
Mom hums, but this sounds like an unkind sneer.
“So you have power and think you can terrorize anyone who dares to bark at you?” she asks, clearly disappointed. "Is this how you think your father treats his subordinates?"
“Dad's subordinates are humans,” Jimin pouts. "It doesn't work the same way with people."
Mom snorts, not impressed by his words one iota.
“People also have a hierarchy, Jimin. And your father has power not only in his company, but in the clan as well,” she gives him a pointed look, as if hinting that Jimin's father would never stoop to bite a lower-status wolf. “Just like your dad and I have power over you as our son. Do you respect us more when we punish you for wrongdoings?”
Jimin winces. He still doesn't get it. His mom is so weird sometimes.
"Of course I respect you and obey you because you are my parents," he says the most obvious truth. "Just like I expect Taemin to obey me because I'm older and higher in status than him," he argues, standing his ground.
Mom sighs in frustration. Jimin just can't figure out what she's trying to tell him.
“Strength and status can give you power, Jimin, but true power is the loyalty of other people's hearts,” she says the most mysterious and confusing thing Jimin has ever heard. “You can always make Taemin obey you, but abusing your physical strength will not earn you his recognition. Will you respect someone who hurts you?"
“I didn't hurt him,” Jimin bristles. "I just showed him his place."
It's all too confusing. He feels that his Mom is trying to explain something important to him, but Jimin can't grasp what yet. What she's saying just makes no sense.
“You know…” his mom looks deep in thought, as if Jimin's words are weighing heavily on her. "Let's change that. Let the condition of our deal not be your apology to Taemin, but your answer to what exactly you did wrong by biting him. I want you to think about it carefully and give me an honest answer within a week, okay?”
Jimin perks up knowing he won't have to apologize to Taemin. The new conditions offered by Mom are much more favorable for him.
"Deal!" he agrees without much thought. "Now tell me the legend of the Hoary Wolf!"
“You promise me, Jimin?” Mom looks very solemn. She holds out her pinky finger to him. "It's a commitment, not empty words."
"I promise, Mom!" Jimin rushes to seal their deal with his pinky. "Honestly, I’ll think about it, but now tell me the legend. Please,” he whines because all this fuss with Taemin isn't worth a hill of beans. Tomorrow morning, he wants to proudly tell Kai that now he too knows the secret of why the Blood Moon happens.
Unlike Kai, Jimin doesn't have an older brother to reveal to him grown-up secrets, but he knows how to get his way.
"Okay," Mom nods in agreement, leaning against the headboard and patting the spot beside her. Jimin happily curls up next to her, leaning against her right side and preparing to listen to a story he isn’t supposed to know yet. "I’ll tell you the legend of the Hoary Wolf and the White Witch."
Jimin gives an eager little wriggle, trying to get more comfortable, until he finally settles with his head on his mom’s lap, so he can look up at her face. Mom just smiles at his impatience.
"So, a long, long time ago, in a lonely cabin deep in the forest, there lived a man named Hoar," Mom strokes Jimin's hair, lulling him with her voice. "He lived as a hermit and shunned human temptations, protecting his heart from the poison of love. Every day he rose with the sun, splashed his face with cold water, and moved through his established ritual.”
"What ritual?" Jimin asks enthusiastically, catching her every word.
"Hoar was a master hunter," Mom smiles at him. "Each morning, armed with a hunting knife and a rifle, he set out for a new victory. Hoar was famous for his skills and he often sold the hunted carcasses of wild animals at the local market. Every day he challenged himself to hunt something new, and every day he succeeded."
"Wo-ow," Jimin exhales in a breathy whisper of awe. "Every day?"
It took him three weeks to hunt his first mouse. Jimin can't imagine how it's possible to progress so fast. He doesn't even think their Alpha can do something like that.
This causes an avalanche of excitement in Jimin's chest.
"Yes, every day," his mother chuckles, stroking his back with her palm. "Hoar knew no fear and went hunting even when wounded. Every morning, despite snow, rain, or scorching heat, he still followed his ritual. Hoar was obstinate. His entire body was scarred and the irises of his eyes turned metallic with determination. No predator could escape from him or defeat him. Hoar was without equal. And that made him put himself above other people."
Jimin's eyes almost turn into hearts at how cool this Hoar is.
"On top of all that, Hoar was very handsome," Mom continues her story in a calm, measured tone. "This only strengthened his arrogance. Hoar avoided people, talked down to the villagers, and once he even shot other hunters chasing a deer near his cabin. Hoar earned a terrible reputation, but he was proud of it. He longed to remain alone and hoped that one day, like his irises, his heart would grow dark and his core would turn to steel. Hoar believed this would make him invincible.”
Jimin needs to meet this Hoar immediately. How can someone be so cool? Can Jimin's heart become metal too? Will it turn his claws into metal claws? Oh, could this make Jimin's paw kick invincible?! He’d like to destroy opponents with one blow!
"But," Mom smiles slyly, "one day Hoar met a woman who changed his life forever."
"No-o-o-o," Jimin whines pleadingly. "No, Mom, just not that! Please, just let Hoar be cool!”
His mom laughs in amusement, and Jimin huffs in displeasure as he listens to her ringing laughter. What's funny about it? This is a tragedy! Love always spoils everything! As happened to Kai's older brother last year, when instead of participating in the pack's attack on the bear, he began hunting beavers with his girlfriend on a full moon. Love destroys the whole vibe! Jimin just can't understand why Hoar had to meet someone when he was already dope! What could be worse for a hunter than falling in love?
"Sorry, but this is not my story," Mom chuckles, stroking his cheek. "It wasn't me who invented Hoar falling in love."
"But why did he have to fall in love?" pouts Jimin. "He had other things to do!"
"He did," Mom smiles gently, "but he didn't choose to fall in love either."
"Is it like a disease?" Jimin suddenly gets scared. He never thought about it. Once, Jimin heard from Taemin that a wolf can get imprinted, which means that you completely lose your free will and just blindly follow another wolf, ready to do anything for your ‘love.’
It's frightening. Jimin hopes nothing like this will ever happen to him.
"No, it's not a disease, dear," Mom softly explains, her hand gently patting his head in a soothing motion. "Hoar just saw a woman he really liked. A beautiful woman."
Jimin wrinkles his nose. Disgusting.
“One day Hoar came to the market to sell some fresh moose carcasses and saw someone new in the crowd. An amazingly beautiful woman with snow-white hair, mother-of-pearl skin, and eyes as red as a burning sunset," Mom says in a dreamy tone. “With outraged fury, she threatened the foolish innkeeper as he grudgingly handed back the stolen bag of herbs. The mysterious woman was stunning in her anger, and Hoar couldn't take his eyes off her.”
Jimin grimaces as he imagines it. If he ever saw such a woman, he would most likely run away from the sight, crying out in fear at the top of his lungs. An angry woman with pearly skin and red eyes... just think.
What was wrong with that Hoar?
"So for the first time in his life, Hoar stepped over his pride and approached the woman first to find out her name," Mom continues, as if the whole story makes any sense. “The enraged woman turned to face him, and her fury instantly melted away, replaced by a look of surprise. Her thin lips parted in amazement as her eyes wandered over Hoar's handsome features... The red color of her irises slowly changed to a light silver gray and a soft pink blush blossomed across her cheekbones,” his mom’s voice carrying a playful hint of a smile. “Her name was Moon.”
“Just like the moon?” Jimin wonders.
"Yes, just like the moon," Mom nods, playing with his locks. "This is an old name, but even at that time it was unusual. Her name intrigued Hoar even more, as did the fact that the woman he craved said nothing more. In the blink of an eye, she vanished without a trace in the crowd. Hoar was amazed."
Jimin snorts, completely losing all the respect for Hoar he ever had. What a pathetic man. Wasn't he supposed to be thinking about hunting instead of women?
"That same evening, Hoar set a new goal for himself, and the next morning he went to the market again," Mom says calmly, ignoring Jimin's disappointment. "It was the first time he failed to reach his goal before sunset. The cocky Hoar was furious.”
“Wait… What was Hoar's goal?” Jimin is confused.
Mom smiles and pokes the tip of his nose.
"To meet the mysterious Moon again, of course," she replies slyly. “Hoar was unable to reach his goal the next morning and the day after that. Every day he grew more desperate and more intolerable with the people from whom he demanded help. Hoar pressed, threatened, and bribed the locals in an attempt to find any information about the mysterious woman, but the days slipped through his fingers, and every sunset Hoar met with a furious scream."
"Was everything okay with him?" Jimin winces. This Hoar worries him.
“Hmm,” Mom pauses, choosing her words. “He was very desperate in his quest, because for Hoar every challenge had to end in his victory. And at a time when he couldn't prove that he was the best, Hoar blamed it on everyone but himself."
Jimin doesn't understand how Hoar was able to turn from a cool hunter with a metal heart into… this.
Wasn't Jimin right? Love always spoils everything.
"However, one day Hoar got lucky," Mom continues with a smile. "That day he learned that the woman he met was called the White Witch in a village many miles from where Hoar lived. Hoar's determination flared up with renewed vigor."
Jimin is getting tired of this story. All legends are the same. If Mom ends her story with ‘they got married and lived happily ever after,’ Jimin is going to knock some teeth out of boastful Kai for misinforming him about how essential it was for him to know that old corny legend.
“So Hoar took his best weapon and set off on a journey to meet the White Witch and turn her into another victory,” Mom softens her voice a bit as if not to scare him, and it takes Jimin a few long seconds to digest the plot twist.
“He was going to kill her?!” Jimin exclaims as he jerks upright on the bed. “You mean… He wanted to hunt her down?”
Mom sighs, nodding.
"That's the reason stories like this aren't told to little kids like you," she scolds.
Okay, maybe Jimin will put off knocking Kai's teeth out until another time.
"And what happened next?" he is suddenly filled with interest to the very core. Who knew that instead of a banal story about love, Jimin would get a legend about a hunter!
"Lie down," Mom pats her thigh, urging him to rest his head on her lap. “You do remember that after my story you’ll need to fall asleep, right?”
“Mo-om,” Jimin whines, but still lies back, resting his head on her lap. "I don't wanna sleep. And this legend is getting really interesting!”
Mom hums, starting to stroke his head soothingly. Jimin doesn't object, trying to fight the urge to squirm restlessly.
"Really?" his mother yawns. "And I'm getting really sleepy," she almost sounds like she's teasing him.
"No!" Jimin exclaims, grabbing her by the hem of her blouse. "Mom, please! I want to know what happened next! We had a deal, remember?”
"Ah, sure," Mom says slowly. "I recall something like that..."
“Mo-om,” Jimin pouts and makes hurt eyes. She laughs and then plants a quick kiss on the top of his head.
"Alright, alright. I’ll continue.”
Jimin settles more comfortably in his seat, his ears attuned to her every word.
“So, Hoar went in search of the White Witch,” Mom continues with a breath, gently running her fingers through his locks. "He was determined to get her as a trophy. Hoar believed that killing the woman he was so infatuated with would finally turn his heart to steel," his mom's voice softens. “He was blinded by his dream of finally getting rid of all the humanness that was in him.”
Jimin is eager to hear whether Hoar can turn his heart into steel. On the one hand, Jimin is really rooting for the hunter's dream, but on the other, he thinks that killing a witch is kind of… unfair.
In the end, she said only one word. You can't kill people just because they told you their name.
This logically brings Jimin back to the conclusion that something was definitely wrong with Hoar, but he decides to think about it later.
“So Hoar spent days and nights dreaming only of how, along with his feelings for the White Witch, he would destroy his weakness and grow invincible,” Mom runs her fingers through his hair as she continues with the story. "Day after day, night after night, he kept moving, steadily approaching his goal. As he asked the villagers for directions and wandered through the tangled routes, Hoar felt himself getting closer and closer to the beautiful White Witch. And one day,” she pauses and stops caressing his hair to catch Jimin's eye, “he did find her.”
Jimin holds his breath in anticipation of what happened next.
"The feelings that Hoar had been denying for so long came over him. Silvery gray eyes met his, and Hoar fell, succumbing to their power,” Mom's voice softens as she wraps up the sentence.
"What?!" Jimin shouts as he suddenly sits up with a jolt. “No! Did she bewitch him?!”
A cunning, insidious witch. Hoar should have shot her right away!
Mom looks at him in surprise, as if such an option had never occurred to her, and then a lot of tenderness appears in her eyes. She laughs, gently ruffling Jimin's hair and urging him to lie down.
“No, honey,” Mom sighs as Jimin reluctantly settles into her lap again. “It wasn't magic, it was passion that flared up between them; untamed and scorching, like raging flames. They spent that night together.”
Jimin frowns, unable to understand anything from her confusing story.
"So what were they doing all night?" he's clearly confused. The hunter spent the whole night trying to track down the White Witch? Were they playing hide and seek? Were they… talking? Or what? What could they have been doing together all night?
Were they hunting together? But whom?
"They were enjoying each other's company," Mom replies vaguely. Jimin frowns at her because Mom is clearly uncomfortable with his questions. "I told you, this story is not for kids."
“I'm not a kid,” Jimin takes offense. "I'm already an adult!"
"Are you going to keep asking a lot of questions, or do you still want to hear the rest of the story?" Mom raises an eyebrow. Jimin innocently opens his eyes wide as he settles on her lap, signaling he won’t interrupt anymore. Mom hums contentedly. “So they had the best night of Hoar's life together, but their bliss ended with the first rays of the sun waking Hoar. Before he even opened his eyes, he had already remembered his goal. And he cursed himself for succumbing to the fleeting moment of weakness."
Jimin sits quietly, continuing to listen to her and nervously grasping the hem of his mother's blouse with his fingers.
“Without thinking long and hurrying to seize the moment before the White Witch woke up, Hoar pulled a knife from his bag to finish what he had come to do. His hands were shaking. His heart was pounding in his chest. Hoar despised his weakness the moment he put the knife to his lover's throat,” his mother's soft voice trembles and Jimin doesn't even dare to breathe as he listens with his eyes and mouth wide open. “The cold touch of metal woke Moon, but her sleepy bliss turned to grief when she saw the steely look in Hoar's eyes. Moon's silver grey irises turned into blue seas of despair, but no sound escaped her lips. Hoar's knife slit through her pearly skin and covered her neck with blood.”
Jimin lets out a low, shocked sound as he clings to the hem of his mom's blouse like his life depends on it. He hates to admit it, but this legend is actually a little scary. Hoar seems insane.
Did he really spend the whole night with Moon only to kill her afterwards?
“Unfortunately for Hoar, his heart did not turn to steel. He didn’t get stripped of human feelings. On the contrary, he felt heartbroken, and Hoar loathed that feeling more than anything. He hated that he was human. As weak as the others," continues Mom quietly and begins to stroke Jimin's back soothingly. He snuggles closer to her. “Hoar turned away from the horrible sight he had turned his love into, but when he plucked up the courage to look at Moon again, her body was gone on the bed. Hoar looked around in fright, and blood-red eyes filled with rage burned him to the core. The angry White Witch looked down on him."
Jimin lets out a small sound of shock.
“She didn't die?!” his voice is almost a whisper this time, even if Jimin is genuinely amazed that the witch managed to survive.
"The White Witch couldn't have died, Jimin," his mother gently explains to him, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. “She's immortal, but Hoar, like you, didn't know that. He thought that killing his love would make him stronger, but Moon was much more than that. She possessed a power that neither Hoar nor any other human could even imagine, and she could see the pain in Hoar's eyes but no remorse. He reached for his gun to take aim at her."
It seems that this Hoar is not only strange, but also not very smart. Jimin is slowly starting to root for the White Witch in this story.
“Moon liked Hoar, but she knew she couldn't change him. His handsome face and enraptured gaze bought her over, but his hard-nosed beliefs and disregard for human feelings made the White Witch truly furious," Mom huffs, and for a moment Jimin sees the same witch in her, with snow-white hair, pearly skin, and burning fury in her eyes. “She wanted to teach Hoar a lesson once and for all, so she offered him a deal. Moon wanted to play hide and seek, demanding that Hoar find her before the last hair on his head turned gray. If he succeeded, she would give him what he so longed for. Moon promised to strip Hoar of his feelings and grant him a power that no hunter had ever possessed before. She promised to make Hoar's core harder than steel with her magic,” Mom continues a little more calmly, but Jimin can still hear the hint of irritation in her voice. How screwed up was this Hoar if he managed to anger not only the White Witch from the legend, but even Jimin's mother? “However, Moon also warned him that if Hoar failed, she would take away all that is human in him and turn him into a wild animal, forcing him to wander the world for the rest of his life. Hoar smugly accepted those terms.”
Jimin feels in his gut that this will not end well. At least, certainly not for Hoar.
“The White Witch looked at Hoar one last time and then disappeared without a trace. Hoar believed he would find her before the next sunrise, but the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years. For decades, Hoar forgot about peace, desperately trying to find any clue that would lead him to the White Witch, but all his efforts were in vain. Hoar spent countless years traveling from one place to the next, scouring every corner of the world, questioning every passer-by, and sifting through every book that mentioned Moon, desperate for a clue. As more and more hairs grew gray on his head, he gradually lost hope that he would ever find the White Witch.”
Jimin tries to hold back a yawn, but Mom notices it anyway. Her eyes fill with tenderness.
"On the day when the last hair on Hoar's head turned gray, he accepted his defeat. Hoar was old and tired, and he no longer felt like a proud hunter. He failed. He knew Moon wouldn't spare him,” Mom says softly, and Jimin holds back another yawn, trying to keep his eyes open. He thinks he knows what kind of wild animal the White Witch will turn Hoar into. “That night, in the middle of the month, the full moon turned blood red, like the eyes of an angry Moon. Hoar realized he had no chance of ever finding her. All this time, the White Witch was hiding in the sky, watching his futile attempts to track her down. Hoar felt like a fool.”
Mom fluffs the pillow and puts it next to her, gesturing for Jimin to settle down for sleep. He doesn't argue, laying next to her and sighing in satisfaction at how soft the pillow feels under his head.
“Enraged, Hoar wanted to accuse Moon of cheating, but the only sound that escaped his throat was a long howl. The White Witch turned him into a hoary wolf," Mom says, covering Jimin with a blanket. "Since then, he's been wandering around the world in animal form, and sometimes when Moon misses him, it turns blue, but other times, when she's angry at Hoar, the moon turns blood red," Mom explains, lovingly watching yawning Jimin rub his eyes with his fists.
“And he… couldn't ever transform again?” Jimin mumbles as he drops his hands. "Into a human."
"No, he couldn’t," Mom sighs and then moves closer to the edge of the bed. "He lived the rest of his life as a wild wolf. The White Witch kept her word and stripped him of all humanity, turning Hoar into an animal.”
It takes Jimin a few seconds to digest the information before a horrible thought strikes him, snapping him out of his drowsy state.
“Can this happen to me?” he's suddenly scared. Jimin isn't naive enough to believe the old legends, but there is something that really makes him worried. “If I remain a wolf for a long time, is it possible that I won't be able to turn back into a human?”
Mom laughs quietly at him, shaking her head. The almost full moon outside the window to her right seems somehow brighter than usual.
"No, honey," she reaches out to him to pat his head gently. "This cannot happen to you. You were born a human and you can turn into a human whenever you want. You have nothing to worry about.”
"Are you sure?" Jimin furrows his brows, looking up at her sleepily.
“Pretty sure,” Mom smiles. "Your wolf nature is as much a part of you as your human one. Don't be afraid of it."
“I'm not…” Jimin yawns widely, relaxing. "I'm not afraid."
"Time to sleep," Mom kisses his forehead and starts to get out of bed. Jimin grabs her hand, not letting her go.
“But what… What happened to the Hoary Wolf?” he mumbles. "Is he dead?"
Mom gently unhooks his hand from her wrist.
"Some say yes, others say no," she gives a vague response, placing his hand under the blanket. “Some believe that Moon made him immortal. They say the Hoary Wolf still roams the world and the White Witch still watches over him. She couldn't forgive him, but she couldn't let him go either."
“It's kind of a weird story,” Jimin grumbles. "It has no end.”
"Just like the Blood Moon," Mom smiles with the corners of her lips. “It's just a legend, but every Blood Moon, when Moon gets angry, the white wolves bring her hunted prey to appease her. We believe that the Red Moon can deprive us of all that is human and doom us to eternal wanderings as wild wolves. We never want to share Hoar's fate,” Mom says with a hint of instruction but then moves closer to Jimin anyway. "But don't worry, pup. This story is for the young wolves who will go through an initiation ceremony this year. You have to wait another four years until the next Blood Moon before you’re allowed to bond with the clan,” Mom plants a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Now go to sleep, honey. It's already late."
“But Mo-om…” Jimin yawns widely, grabbing her blouse again and not letting her go. "How do I go through the initiation ceremony? I'm an adult, I want to complete it this year,” Jimin mumbles more sleepily than he would like.
Mom chuckles, unhooking his clingy fingers from her blouse and hiding his hands under the covers again.
"It's too early for you, pup. You are too young to hunt with the clan, but one day,” she strokes his head, picking through the strands, “you will be among those who place our spoils on the altar as an offering to the White Witch.”
Jimin opens his eyes wide and completely forgets about sleep, too enthralled by such a prospect.
"Enough," Mom commands and pokes the tip of his nose. “You're going to bed, Jimin. It's an order."
“Okay,” Jimin mutters quietly, not daring to argue further. He hopes he hasn't been too pushy to really annoy her.
His mom can deprive him of sweets, or put him to sleep at lunch, or make him eat spinach— yikes!—for dinner. It’s better to never annoy Jimin's mother.
"Sweet dreams, little bun," Mom smiles, walking away from his bed and turning off the lights in the room. Jimin's ceiling and walls get illuminated by dozens of fluorescent stars.
Mom opens the door to leave, but Jimin's loud whisper makes her stop in the doorway and look back at him.
"Mom..." Jimin clutches the blanket in his hands and glances at the moon outside the window, its silver light illuminating his bed. He wonders if the White Witch knows everything they've been talking about. "Moon hears us when we howl at her?"
Mom is silent for a few seconds, looking surprised, but then her expression softens.
"I don't know, honey," she sighs and glances at the shining moon outside the window as well, before giving Jimin a small smile from the corners of her lips. "But we still greet her every time."