500 years of solitude [3?]
Title: 500 years of solitude [3/?]
Author clubotaku
Pairing: Kris/Luhan with minor Sehun/Luhan, Lay/Luhan
Characters: EXO-M with mentions of Hangeng, Victoria and others
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, Supernatural, Historical Au!
Summary: After 500 years of collecting hearts, a fox spirit will be able to go to Heaven.
A/N: So... The apocalypse didn't come and neither has EXO's comeback
I returned to my homeland in a dream,
故国梦重归
As I awakened, I shed two tears.
觉来双泪垂
Li Yu李煜-Midnight Song子夜歌
Luhan dreams of a river of gold that turns into a bolt of flowing gold silk that slips from his grasp no matter how hard he chases after it. The edges of his vision are blurred but he can sense the shadows that follow him and the voices that whisper warnings in his ear; the smell of incense surrounding him. The corridor seems endless and he turns, turns, turns and ah! It opens into a field of corn and he’s running uphill, chasing a butterfly in the wind. The words don’t come out, or maybe they do but they’re blown away and he’s left breathless, still running after something he doesn’t understand but wants. His legs feel heavy, the roots of trees and corn spurting out of the ground to hold him back, a voice like Yixing’s telling him to turn away, go home, go home Luhan, but he won’t, he can’t. His heart pounds like a thousand drums and he rips his legs away, the Earth screaming behind him in frustration as he races uphill, choking on the smoke that engulfs him at the peak. Blinded, eyes watering, he tries to find the butterfly, looking for a trace of gold in all the black. Teeth snap out of the darkness, drops of red everywhere and Luhan wakes up sweating, furious gold eyes seared into his brain. Give me your heart.
When he wakes up a second time, the rooster is crowing and sunlight spills through the window, Yixing puffing gently beside him, one hand draped across his head, the other holding a small cloth. It takes him a moment to realize his best friend must have heard him wake up, has been wiping the sweat from his head once he finally fell into slumber. Luhan sighs, staring at the ceiling, thoughts of fox spirits unable to leave his mind.
“If I find one… If I catch one, I can beat Ge,” he murmurs, half to himself, half to an invisible audience, “I will be an adult. I will catch the beast. I’m not afraid.”
“You can’t even hold a bow properly,” mutters Yixing, Luhan tumbling off the bed in surprise, “How the hell do you expect to kill anything?”
“Stop doing that!”
Yixing grunts and buries his head under the pillow, motioning for Luhan to go away.
“Sleep.”
“It’s daybreak!”
“I can’t see any light from here.”
Luhan kicks him off the bed.
Sehun pulls the bow back eyes focused on the target ahead. The string is released, feathered arrow reaching to bury itself in the target. The younger boy lets out a whoop, taking in the arrow filled target.
“Ge, Ge! Look, all twelve have hit the target! I’ve almost hit bulls-eye too!”
He turns to look at the older boy, but the other is staring vacantly at the sky, bow dangling from his arm, mouth half-open. Sehun pouts, disappointed and strides over, tugging at his free arm.
“Hyuuuuuung. Were you even paying attention? You’re supposed to be practicing!”
Luhan blinks, turning to face him with a sheepish smile. He ruffles the other’s hair affectionately and Sehun’s pout starts to shrink, but he forces himself to maintain it, pushing out his lower lip stubbornly.
“Sorry Sehun-ah, I’m a little tired. Didn’t sleep much last night so I’m a little spaced out today.”
He pats him on the head and turns towards the target range, pulling out an arrow. Sehun watches as the elder strings his bow, backwards.
“Ge.”
Luhan is unresponsive, eyes focusing on something further than the target that the other cannot see.
“Ge!”
Luhan jumps, dropping the arrow, the feathered end crumpling as it hits the ground.
“You strung your arrow backwards.”
“Oh! Thanks Sehun, I didn’t notice at all!” He laughs sheepishly, a hand running through his wavy hair. Sehun has always been jealous of his hair, the other boy standing out from the crowd with his natural waves and curls. Even the women and the highest-paid courtesans could not boast of having such fine locks. Sehun’s own straight, boring hair was on different from anyone else’s, his looks having been described as “acceptable, but half-asleep and lacking in charm” by the village matchmaker (Luhan-ge had snuck a cricket in her tea after) and his martial arts skills just above average. Luhan hyung, Luhan-ge on the other hand was like a newborn fawn, innocent and alluring. Although he wore his hair in a top-knot like the other nobles, a few curls would drop to frame his face, curling past his ears and making him look even more wide-eyed. He was adored; beloved by so many but Sehun could not hate him for it for he was one of the many. Wushu had been drilled into him since young and Sehun had yet to surpass him though he had realized somewhere between the age of 15 and 16 that he no longer wanted to, if it meant more time learning from him (and Hangeng-ge).
When Sehun’s father had first dragged them here, away from their homeland and country, the unfamiliar language harsh and unintelligible, the other noble children laughing at him as he wallowed alone in his confusion, Luhan had been the only one to talk to him, speaking in his own tongue. When they made fun of his lisp, telling him he’d been cursed by the Gods and he’d been trapped by his own inability to scream at them in a language they’d understand, Luhan had beaten them and suffered their blows-and later his father’s-but still came out smiling sunnily through bloody teeth. At first he’d lashed out at the Chinese boy, because it was just him versus them, the barrier of communication seemingly impossible to cross and him, unwilling to learn in case it looked like he was giving into them. He refused to speak to Luhan in anything other than Korean, purposely tore up his Chinese homework in front of the other, sneering in childish defiance of what he perceived to be giving in. Yet the other boy smiled through this, picking up the torn pieces of calligraphy and pasting them together after Sehun had stormed out of the room; he would speak in Korean whenever they were together in official dinners surrounded by them, taught Sehun wushu so he would be able to fight back if he was ever alone, gave him crickets and silkworms that he had caught to raise. Somehow, at some point, Luhan ceased to be one of them and Sehun had started responding in mandarin, the first ‘鹿晗哥’ rolling out in one of his tantrums. The look of happiness that spread on the other’s face filled him with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure, Luhan clapping his hands gleefully as he ruffled Sehun’s hair for the first time since they’d met, babbling in mandarin until Sehun thought his brain would crack. Though everyone-including Luhan-thought or expected the first word he’d learnt to be his name, ‘鹿晗’ would always be the first word that held any real meaning to him.
Sehun didn’t know if Luhan knew just how deep his admiration ran, nor how much he wished he could be as close as he and the herbalist were. Now, as he watched his Ge looking at nothing, the arrow still lying on the ground, Sehun made up his mind to do what he could to help him. Smoothening the ends until all the feathers were aligned, he poked Luhan, watching with some satisfaction as the other yelped in surprise, rubbing his sides.
“I don’t know what you’re dreaming of Ge, but the Imperial Exam and your Coming-of-Age ceremony is approaching and I’m not letting you fail because your archery is abysmal. Since Hangeng-ge is busy, I will help you… Since it’s the only thing I can do better.” The last part comes out softer.
“Sehun-ah”
“Ask Yixing-ge to make you something to help you focus. It’s already late autumn … Your test is mid- spring. You need to practice… Or I’ll tell Songqian-jie that you used her favourite teapot to catch frogs.” His voice is firm, face stern.
Luhan looks shocked, but his eyes crinkle up into half-moons as he slaps his sides, laughing.
“First Yixing, now you? Everyone is threatening me these days, aigoo Sehun-ah. Ok, show me again how to hold this thing properly.”
“This thing is called a bow Ge, it could save your life,” he replies, contrite, but the corner of his mouth twitches upwards.
Chen rubs his hands together, reaching out for the freshly killed pheasants.
“We killed them!” says Luhan proudly, brushing a few stray feathers off his autumn coat, the fur already stained with mud. He stands on tiptoes to blow a feather playfully off Sehun, the taller boy looking more awake than usual as he stumbles backwards.
“Thanks Sehun,” says Chen, choosing to ignore the insult Luhan throws his way, “We all know you couldn’t shoot a dead duck Luhan. Ge.” The other boy glares but doesn’t deny it.
“Luhan-ge’s hair is nicer than yours!” Sehun says suddenly. Chen gives him a look and he turns to face the wall, suddenly very interested in beetle dung.
“Riiiiight, because he’s definitely going to use his luscious locks to strangle a bear to death, or dazzle it with immense silkiness. Maybe he’ll reflect the light into a tiger’s eyes and it’ll fall off a cliff.”
Both ignore him.
ldquo;You lied!”
Xiumin pants as he comes to a stop, pointing a finger accusingly at Chen who holds his hands up defensively, pointing at Luhan.
“Whatever it was, it’s him!”
“Hey!”
“You told me I’d meet someone and have a fateful encounter; you didn’t tell me it would be a man!”
“I never specified-the spirits are very vague about these things you know…”
“I don’t need to meet more men, I want a girl!” wails Xiumin, flour-covered hands shaking the shaman-in-training, “And before you say it Luhan doesn’t count!”
“Hey! I take very personal offence to that!”
“I’ve been in love with Lord Li’s daughter for six years, six years! Longer than the time it took for Sehun to learn mandarin! I even drank your disgusting tonic you swindler!”
Chen tries to run as Xiumin starts beating him with a cold bun that’s obviously turned stale. He’s sure he will have bruises in the morning. Luhan and Sehun watch from a safe distance, the cowards.
“It was still a faithful encounter though right? I never said it would be his daughter!”
“I embarrassed myself before her delicate self,” Xiumin grips his sash so tight his waist feels like all the blood is disappearing, “I dropped my whole morning’s worth of mantou after running into some freakishly tall stranger.”
“Why were you running Ge?” asked Sehun, plucking the feathers off the forgotten pheasant absentmindedly.
“I finally made eye contact with her… She was so beautiful in the morning light”
Chen pretends to gag.
“as she passed through the square, her eyes meeting mine. She dropped her handkerchief so I was rushing to pick it up before a horse trod on it and then this tall guy appeared out of nowhere and”
He starts to shake Chen with more vigour,
“I dropped the buns everywhere, onto him, onto her silk handkerchief.”
“Onto your tattered heart?” Chen can’t resist even though he’s likely to face death by stale buns.
“Yes! She gave me this look of total disdain and left… And that jerk didn’t bother to say sorry, he just walked off. Just because he has a sword and is a giant he thinks he can just walk around like he owns the place.”
“Taller than our Sehun?” asks Luhan, now draped across the bags of herbs that line the walls. Sehun sits cross-legged next to him, on the floor, still plucking. One of Luhan’s hands hangs around his shoulders, the other poking holes into the bags.
“Yeah, seriously tall. There are few men in the city who could possibly be taller than him,” says Xiumin, remembering only an outline, having been too upset over the girl’s departure, “Not that built but pretty solid. Haven’t seen him around here before but he seemed pretty… Unfriendly. If looks could kill…”
“Probably trying to catch the beast,” says Chen, “There’s now a reward for its head. Government is offering a bag of silver for whoever kills it. Your brother has been running himself ragged trying to find it, even with all his men.”
Luhan frowns.
“He’ll find it. Someone will.” Maybe me.
“It’s all a bit strange,” says Sehun, “The fact it only takes the hearts and sometimes the meat. Normal animals wouldn’t do that.”
Xiumin shudders.
“People don’t venture out at night anymore. They say it’s not human, that it’s some angry spirit. I’ve seen people burning incense on the street and burning paper effigies for their ancestors to protect them.”
“Dead people aren’t much help,” grumbles Chen, “They’re dead.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be able to talk to them?” asks Luhan, “Or do you really just talk mumbo-jumbo like we all suspect?”
“I talk to real spirits and deities, not withered old fogies thank you very much! Besides, I’m still training,” sniffs Chen, “Can’t expect one to know everything at such an early stage.”
Luhan leans forward eagerly.
“So you have any idea what it could be then, oh wise one?”
Chen has never been able to resist flattery, even if said sarcastically.
“Well,” he leans forward conspiratorially, “I heard whispers it could be a fox spirit! Trying to collect hearts to gain more power or tails!”
“I thought they got a wish?”
The look Chen gives is disdainful.
“That’s the romanticized version of the story but I wouldn’t expect ordinary humans to know the delicate intricacies of the spiritual world.”
Sehun suppresses a snort and ends up inhaling feathers, breaking into a cough as Luhan thumps his back, laughing.
“Not like you’re an expert,” says Xiumin a little bitterly.
“It was a fateful encounter!”
“No homo!”
Luhan watches the arrow fall short of the target. To his left, Hangeng is propped up against the fence, Kuixian standing behind him.
“That was a little better,” says his brother, “Maybe the next one will hit the target.”
Luhan pulls, inhales and releases. The arrow just misses a soldier’s leg and he quickly yells apologies, running to pick up the carpet of arrows surrounding the target.
“That had more power, well done! Now you just need to hit the target.” Hangeng’s voice is weak as he tries to keep smiling despite it being evident Luhan will probably kill or castrate someone by accident.
“That kid will probably shoot himself,” mutters a soldier, freezing when Hangeng shoots him a furious glare.
“I’m sorry Ge, for wasting your time.”
Luhan picks up the arrows, two, three at a time, part of him trying to make the most of the time but the other part reluctant to embarrass himself or his brother further. Hangeng shakes his head, getting up to help him.
“It takes time and besides, it’s the beginning of winter and your trial is in spring. Practicing everyday will help, even if I can’t be here with you.”
“I need to study for the Imperial Exam too,” mumbles Luhan, “I’m starting to recite Confucius in my sleep.”
Hangeng laughs, knocking his head.
“And how would you know that Xiao Lu?”
“Yixing told me I sleep talk.”
Hangeng’s brain stops for a minute, the innocence of his brother’s reply clashing with unsaid implications that adults form. Luhan doesn’t notice, in a world of his own as he finishes collecting the last of the arrows.
“You should spend more time practicing if you have time for sleepovers.”
His voice comes out harsher than he intended and he can see it, the hurt in his brother’s eyes, the feeling that he’s still a child being talked down to by an adult. In a way it’s true, Luhan is only seventeen and Hangeng is twenty three, already a man and a commander in the army.
“When I’m busy, try practicing with Sehun. I’ve seen him shoot, he’s got a good aim.”
“Sure Ge.” The smile doesn’t quite reach the boy’s eyes.
“I’m sorry I haven’t had time to help you or if I’ve been tired and irritable Xiao Lu, but this wretched hunt is driving me and my men crazy. We’re hunting something nobody has ever seen, we don’t know what it is exactly and the men are passing old wives tales around that spook everyone.”
Luhan perks up.
“You mean like how you said it could be a fox spirit?”
Hangeng can’t hide his surprise that Luhan remembers this but then again, his brother hangs around that Shaman-in-training and Yixing.
“Yeah… Though you shouldn’t concern yourself too much with these old wives tales. They’re just meant to scare us.”
“But what if it is a spirit? What will you do?” Luhan tugs at his sleeve, eyes wide with excitement.
“Kill it of course, it’s killing the cattle.” Hangeng wishes it were only so easy. “Though the hearts thing could be coincidence; maybe a new breed of tiger or bear. It could even be a human trying to stir trouble.”
Luhan opens his mouth to speak but Hangeng beats him to it,
“No you cannot go hunting with us before you ask, yes the woods are still dangerous.”
He turns away so he can’t see the dreaded pout.
“And practice your wushu with Sehun while you’re at it.”
The weight of Luhan’s gaze bears into his back and Hangeng waves his hand impatiently.
“Stop pouting!”
“Only if you let me come with you!”
Hangeng sighs and across the way a group of his men snicker at their Captain’s weakness towards his brother.
“Let’s make a deal ok? If and only if you can shoot a bulls-eye ten times in a row before the month is up, will I let you join us.”
“Done!” Luhan grins at him, all confidence before he surprises the elder with a quick hug, “Don’t catch it without me Ge!”
The men make cooing noises at the hug, Luhan either choosing to ignore this or totally oblivious. Hangeng watches his brother speed off, waving with one hand, the other throwing a spear at the group of men.
“Go clean the stables! I want the floor sparkling and the place to smell like peonies!”
In the distance Luhan has started skipping, singing to himself. Above the clouds gather, shutting out the sunlight and Hangeng shivers, feeling like a thousand icicles have pierced him. Kuixian stamps the ground, nervous, and Hangeng leads him quickly to the stables, indoors, away from the open fields and the forest above.
The road leading from the barracks back into the city stretches before him, Luhan kicking up dust in his glee, plucking flowers at random and tossing the petals haphazardly into the grass. A chance to prove to Hangeng he could shoot, to prove to everyone he could do it! His mind drifts off into his wonderland, receiving praises from his father and other officials, his brother finally acknowledging him as a man. Run. Yixing’s voice breaks into his daydream, shatters the happy picture. Run. Luhan looks around to see if his friend is hiding, hiding somewhere along the road since he can’t possibly be hearing things.
“This isn’t funny Yixing,” says Luhan, scanning the fields. The harvest may be over but the remnants of the stalks remain, a dirty green.
Something behind him snaps-a twig-and he freezes without understanding, body reacting instinctively even as his mind denies it.
“Come on Yixing, you think I’d fall for your tricks?”
Rustling, loud cracks as something moves towards him, Luhan turning to look behind him.
RUN!
The word sears into his brain and he bolts, confused and frightened. The sound of crops being trampled gets louder, moves closer even as the city looms into view. There’s a bend in the road ahead, a right turn that will lead him to the main city gate, into safety. As he turns there’s a flash of red, a horrible snarling and Luhan screams, turning into the field of dead corn. The plants whip his face, catch at his clothing but he runs, trying to move away from the sound. As he runs he realizes he’s unarmed, no knife or sword to help him apart from the useless bow on his back and a quiver full of broken arrows.
Faster Luhan!
“Shut up Yixing!” he yells, “Shut up and help me!” If you’re even there at all.
The field seems to go on forever and he can barely see over the top of them, but the further he runs, the more tired he gets, each step takes him one step further from the city. It hits him like a rush of cold air, he’s being hunted. It’s exactly the way an animal would do it, driving the prey away from the herd and cutting it down alone. He jumps, trying to find the way back but something pins him with a feeling so cold his legs lose their strength and he falls to the ground. He can feel it, the sound of his heart, pumping blood without effect, limbs useless in his fear. Get up! Get up! With effort he pushes himself up and away, breathing growing more ragged as the sunlight fades, the sunset muted by the coming storm. Luhan runs blindly, relying on his gut instinct to lead him home. In the corner of his eye he can see a dark shape closing in on his left, but it disappears, only to reappear on his right, blending in with the scenery. Veering to the side he backtracks, hoping to lose it if only for a second. Faster, run faster!
“Someone, help me,” Luhan breathes, eyes squeezed shut, telling himself he’s not as afraid as he really is. I’m going to die.
The snarl explodes behind him, the force of the sound causing him to stumble, hot breath at his heels and Luhan screams, crashing into something. His hands grasp fur and he beats it furiously, fists pounding and legs kicking before he pulled against its chest, each movement weakening as his the adrenalin leaves him and despair sets in. Slowly, two hands pull him away, warm upon his shoulders and Luhan sees the damp fur-he’d been crying. He looks up, at fine cheekbones and shadowed eyes that flash gold, sees a mouth moving. The darkness has never felt so comfortable as he slips away, staring at the gold.
Run
A/N: So after writing a little apocalyptic EXO fic and ending exams I finally posted this. Sorry for the wait and thanks to those who commented :) Merry Krismas!
Author clubotaku
Pairing: Kris/Luhan with minor Sehun/Luhan, Lay/Luhan
Characters: EXO-M with mentions of Hangeng, Victoria and others
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, Supernatural, Historical Au!
Summary: After 500 years of collecting hearts, a fox spirit will be able to go to Heaven.
A/N: So... The apocalypse didn't come and neither has EXO's comeback
I returned to my homeland in a dream,
故国梦重归
As I awakened, I shed two tears.
觉来双泪垂
Li Yu李煜-Midnight Song子夜歌
Luhan dreams of a river of gold that turns into a bolt of flowing gold silk that slips from his grasp no matter how hard he chases after it. The edges of his vision are blurred but he can sense the shadows that follow him and the voices that whisper warnings in his ear; the smell of incense surrounding him. The corridor seems endless and he turns, turns, turns and ah! It opens into a field of corn and he’s running uphill, chasing a butterfly in the wind. The words don’t come out, or maybe they do but they’re blown away and he’s left breathless, still running after something he doesn’t understand but wants. His legs feel heavy, the roots of trees and corn spurting out of the ground to hold him back, a voice like Yixing’s telling him to turn away, go home, go home Luhan, but he won’t, he can’t. His heart pounds like a thousand drums and he rips his legs away, the Earth screaming behind him in frustration as he races uphill, choking on the smoke that engulfs him at the peak. Blinded, eyes watering, he tries to find the butterfly, looking for a trace of gold in all the black. Teeth snap out of the darkness, drops of red everywhere and Luhan wakes up sweating, furious gold eyes seared into his brain. Give me your heart.
When he wakes up a second time, the rooster is crowing and sunlight spills through the window, Yixing puffing gently beside him, one hand draped across his head, the other holding a small cloth. It takes him a moment to realize his best friend must have heard him wake up, has been wiping the sweat from his head once he finally fell into slumber. Luhan sighs, staring at the ceiling, thoughts of fox spirits unable to leave his mind.
“If I find one… If I catch one, I can beat Ge,” he murmurs, half to himself, half to an invisible audience, “I will be an adult. I will catch the beast. I’m not afraid.”
“You can’t even hold a bow properly,” mutters Yixing, Luhan tumbling off the bed in surprise, “How the hell do you expect to kill anything?”
“Stop doing that!”
Yixing grunts and buries his head under the pillow, motioning for Luhan to go away.
“Sleep.”
“It’s daybreak!”
“I can’t see any light from here.”
Luhan kicks him off the bed.
Sehun pulls the bow back eyes focused on the target ahead. The string is released, feathered arrow reaching to bury itself in the target. The younger boy lets out a whoop, taking in the arrow filled target.
“Ge, Ge! Look, all twelve have hit the target! I’ve almost hit bulls-eye too!”
He turns to look at the older boy, but the other is staring vacantly at the sky, bow dangling from his arm, mouth half-open. Sehun pouts, disappointed and strides over, tugging at his free arm.
“Hyuuuuuung. Were you even paying attention? You’re supposed to be practicing!”
Luhan blinks, turning to face him with a sheepish smile. He ruffles the other’s hair affectionately and Sehun’s pout starts to shrink, but he forces himself to maintain it, pushing out his lower lip stubbornly.
“Sorry Sehun-ah, I’m a little tired. Didn’t sleep much last night so I’m a little spaced out today.”
He pats him on the head and turns towards the target range, pulling out an arrow. Sehun watches as the elder strings his bow, backwards.
“Ge.”
Luhan is unresponsive, eyes focusing on something further than the target that the other cannot see.
“Ge!”
Luhan jumps, dropping the arrow, the feathered end crumpling as it hits the ground.
“You strung your arrow backwards.”
“Oh! Thanks Sehun, I didn’t notice at all!” He laughs sheepishly, a hand running through his wavy hair. Sehun has always been jealous of his hair, the other boy standing out from the crowd with his natural waves and curls. Even the women and the highest-paid courtesans could not boast of having such fine locks. Sehun’s own straight, boring hair was on different from anyone else’s, his looks having been described as “acceptable, but half-asleep and lacking in charm” by the village matchmaker (Luhan-ge had snuck a cricket in her tea after) and his martial arts skills just above average. Luhan hyung, Luhan-ge on the other hand was like a newborn fawn, innocent and alluring. Although he wore his hair in a top-knot like the other nobles, a few curls would drop to frame his face, curling past his ears and making him look even more wide-eyed. He was adored; beloved by so many but Sehun could not hate him for it for he was one of the many. Wushu had been drilled into him since young and Sehun had yet to surpass him though he had realized somewhere between the age of 15 and 16 that he no longer wanted to, if it meant more time learning from him (and Hangeng-ge).
When Sehun’s father had first dragged them here, away from their homeland and country, the unfamiliar language harsh and unintelligible, the other noble children laughing at him as he wallowed alone in his confusion, Luhan had been the only one to talk to him, speaking in his own tongue. When they made fun of his lisp, telling him he’d been cursed by the Gods and he’d been trapped by his own inability to scream at them in a language they’d understand, Luhan had beaten them and suffered their blows-and later his father’s-but still came out smiling sunnily through bloody teeth. At first he’d lashed out at the Chinese boy, because it was just him versus them, the barrier of communication seemingly impossible to cross and him, unwilling to learn in case it looked like he was giving into them. He refused to speak to Luhan in anything other than Korean, purposely tore up his Chinese homework in front of the other, sneering in childish defiance of what he perceived to be giving in. Yet the other boy smiled through this, picking up the torn pieces of calligraphy and pasting them together after Sehun had stormed out of the room; he would speak in Korean whenever they were together in official dinners surrounded by them, taught Sehun wushu so he would be able to fight back if he was ever alone, gave him crickets and silkworms that he had caught to raise. Somehow, at some point, Luhan ceased to be one of them and Sehun had started responding in mandarin, the first ‘鹿晗哥’ rolling out in one of his tantrums. The look of happiness that spread on the other’s face filled him with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure, Luhan clapping his hands gleefully as he ruffled Sehun’s hair for the first time since they’d met, babbling in mandarin until Sehun thought his brain would crack. Though everyone-including Luhan-thought or expected the first word he’d learnt to be his name, ‘鹿晗’ would always be the first word that held any real meaning to him.
Sehun didn’t know if Luhan knew just how deep his admiration ran, nor how much he wished he could be as close as he and the herbalist were. Now, as he watched his Ge looking at nothing, the arrow still lying on the ground, Sehun made up his mind to do what he could to help him. Smoothening the ends until all the feathers were aligned, he poked Luhan, watching with some satisfaction as the other yelped in surprise, rubbing his sides.
“I don’t know what you’re dreaming of Ge, but the Imperial Exam and your Coming-of-Age ceremony is approaching and I’m not letting you fail because your archery is abysmal. Since Hangeng-ge is busy, I will help you… Since it’s the only thing I can do better.” The last part comes out softer.
“Sehun-ah”
“Ask Yixing-ge to make you something to help you focus. It’s already late autumn … Your test is mid- spring. You need to practice… Or I’ll tell Songqian-jie that you used her favourite teapot to catch frogs.” His voice is firm, face stern.
Luhan looks shocked, but his eyes crinkle up into half-moons as he slaps his sides, laughing.
“First Yixing, now you? Everyone is threatening me these days, aigoo Sehun-ah. Ok, show me again how to hold this thing properly.”
“This thing is called a bow Ge, it could save your life,” he replies, contrite, but the corner of his mouth twitches upwards.
Chen rubs his hands together, reaching out for the freshly killed pheasants.
“We killed them!” says Luhan proudly, brushing a few stray feathers off his autumn coat, the fur already stained with mud. He stands on tiptoes to blow a feather playfully off Sehun, the taller boy looking more awake than usual as he stumbles backwards.
“Thanks Sehun,” says Chen, choosing to ignore the insult Luhan throws his way, “We all know you couldn’t shoot a dead duck Luhan. Ge.” The other boy glares but doesn’t deny it.
“Luhan-ge’s hair is nicer than yours!” Sehun says suddenly. Chen gives him a look and he turns to face the wall, suddenly very interested in beetle dung.
“Riiiiight, because he’s definitely going to use his luscious locks to strangle a bear to death, or dazzle it with immense silkiness. Maybe he’ll reflect the light into a tiger’s eyes and it’ll fall off a cliff.”
Both ignore him.
ldquo;You lied!”
Xiumin pants as he comes to a stop, pointing a finger accusingly at Chen who holds his hands up defensively, pointing at Luhan.
“Whatever it was, it’s him!”
“Hey!”
“You told me I’d meet someone and have a fateful encounter; you didn’t tell me it would be a man!”
“I never specified-the spirits are very vague about these things you know…”
“I don’t need to meet more men, I want a girl!” wails Xiumin, flour-covered hands shaking the shaman-in-training, “And before you say it Luhan doesn’t count!”
“Hey! I take very personal offence to that!”
“I’ve been in love with Lord Li’s daughter for six years, six years! Longer than the time it took for Sehun to learn mandarin! I even drank your disgusting tonic you swindler!”
Chen tries to run as Xiumin starts beating him with a cold bun that’s obviously turned stale. He’s sure he will have bruises in the morning. Luhan and Sehun watch from a safe distance, the cowards.
“It was still a faithful encounter though right? I never said it would be his daughter!”
“I embarrassed myself before her delicate self,” Xiumin grips his sash so tight his waist feels like all the blood is disappearing, “I dropped my whole morning’s worth of mantou after running into some freakishly tall stranger.”
“Why were you running Ge?” asked Sehun, plucking the feathers off the forgotten pheasant absentmindedly.
“I finally made eye contact with her… She was so beautiful in the morning light”
Chen pretends to gag.
“as she passed through the square, her eyes meeting mine. She dropped her handkerchief so I was rushing to pick it up before a horse trod on it and then this tall guy appeared out of nowhere and”
He starts to shake Chen with more vigour,
“I dropped the buns everywhere, onto him, onto her silk handkerchief.”
“Onto your tattered heart?” Chen can’t resist even though he’s likely to face death by stale buns.
“Yes! She gave me this look of total disdain and left… And that jerk didn’t bother to say sorry, he just walked off. Just because he has a sword and is a giant he thinks he can just walk around like he owns the place.”
“Taller than our Sehun?” asks Luhan, now draped across the bags of herbs that line the walls. Sehun sits cross-legged next to him, on the floor, still plucking. One of Luhan’s hands hangs around his shoulders, the other poking holes into the bags.
“Yeah, seriously tall. There are few men in the city who could possibly be taller than him,” says Xiumin, remembering only an outline, having been too upset over the girl’s departure, “Not that built but pretty solid. Haven’t seen him around here before but he seemed pretty… Unfriendly. If looks could kill…”
“Probably trying to catch the beast,” says Chen, “There’s now a reward for its head. Government is offering a bag of silver for whoever kills it. Your brother has been running himself ragged trying to find it, even with all his men.”
Luhan frowns.
“He’ll find it. Someone will.” Maybe me.
“It’s all a bit strange,” says Sehun, “The fact it only takes the hearts and sometimes the meat. Normal animals wouldn’t do that.”
Xiumin shudders.
“People don’t venture out at night anymore. They say it’s not human, that it’s some angry spirit. I’ve seen people burning incense on the street and burning paper effigies for their ancestors to protect them.”
“Dead people aren’t much help,” grumbles Chen, “They’re dead.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be able to talk to them?” asks Luhan, “Or do you really just talk mumbo-jumbo like we all suspect?”
“I talk to real spirits and deities, not withered old fogies thank you very much! Besides, I’m still training,” sniffs Chen, “Can’t expect one to know everything at such an early stage.”
Luhan leans forward eagerly.
“So you have any idea what it could be then, oh wise one?”
Chen has never been able to resist flattery, even if said sarcastically.
“Well,” he leans forward conspiratorially, “I heard whispers it could be a fox spirit! Trying to collect hearts to gain more power or tails!”
“I thought they got a wish?”
The look Chen gives is disdainful.
“That’s the romanticized version of the story but I wouldn’t expect ordinary humans to know the delicate intricacies of the spiritual world.”
Sehun suppresses a snort and ends up inhaling feathers, breaking into a cough as Luhan thumps his back, laughing.
“Not like you’re an expert,” says Xiumin a little bitterly.
“It was a fateful encounter!”
“No homo!”
Luhan watches the arrow fall short of the target. To his left, Hangeng is propped up against the fence, Kuixian standing behind him.
“That was a little better,” says his brother, “Maybe the next one will hit the target.”
Luhan pulls, inhales and releases. The arrow just misses a soldier’s leg and he quickly yells apologies, running to pick up the carpet of arrows surrounding the target.
“That had more power, well done! Now you just need to hit the target.” Hangeng’s voice is weak as he tries to keep smiling despite it being evident Luhan will probably kill or castrate someone by accident.
“That kid will probably shoot himself,” mutters a soldier, freezing when Hangeng shoots him a furious glare.
“I’m sorry Ge, for wasting your time.”
Luhan picks up the arrows, two, three at a time, part of him trying to make the most of the time but the other part reluctant to embarrass himself or his brother further. Hangeng shakes his head, getting up to help him.
“It takes time and besides, it’s the beginning of winter and your trial is in spring. Practicing everyday will help, even if I can’t be here with you.”
“I need to study for the Imperial Exam too,” mumbles Luhan, “I’m starting to recite Confucius in my sleep.”
Hangeng laughs, knocking his head.
“And how would you know that Xiao Lu?”
“Yixing told me I sleep talk.”
Hangeng’s brain stops for a minute, the innocence of his brother’s reply clashing with unsaid implications that adults form. Luhan doesn’t notice, in a world of his own as he finishes collecting the last of the arrows.
“You should spend more time practicing if you have time for sleepovers.”
His voice comes out harsher than he intended and he can see it, the hurt in his brother’s eyes, the feeling that he’s still a child being talked down to by an adult. In a way it’s true, Luhan is only seventeen and Hangeng is twenty three, already a man and a commander in the army.
“When I’m busy, try practicing with Sehun. I’ve seen him shoot, he’s got a good aim.”
“Sure Ge.” The smile doesn’t quite reach the boy’s eyes.
“I’m sorry I haven’t had time to help you or if I’ve been tired and irritable Xiao Lu, but this wretched hunt is driving me and my men crazy. We’re hunting something nobody has ever seen, we don’t know what it is exactly and the men are passing old wives tales around that spook everyone.”
Luhan perks up.
“You mean like how you said it could be a fox spirit?”
Hangeng can’t hide his surprise that Luhan remembers this but then again, his brother hangs around that Shaman-in-training and Yixing.
“Yeah… Though you shouldn’t concern yourself too much with these old wives tales. They’re just meant to scare us.”
“But what if it is a spirit? What will you do?” Luhan tugs at his sleeve, eyes wide with excitement.
“Kill it of course, it’s killing the cattle.” Hangeng wishes it were only so easy. “Though the hearts thing could be coincidence; maybe a new breed of tiger or bear. It could even be a human trying to stir trouble.”
Luhan opens his mouth to speak but Hangeng beats him to it,
“No you cannot go hunting with us before you ask, yes the woods are still dangerous.”
He turns away so he can’t see the dreaded pout.
“And practice your wushu with Sehun while you’re at it.”
The weight of Luhan’s gaze bears into his back and Hangeng waves his hand impatiently.
“Stop pouting!”
“Only if you let me come with you!”
Hangeng sighs and across the way a group of his men snicker at their Captain’s weakness towards his brother.
“Let’s make a deal ok? If and only if you can shoot a bulls-eye ten times in a row before the month is up, will I let you join us.”
“Done!” Luhan grins at him, all confidence before he surprises the elder with a quick hug, “Don’t catch it without me Ge!”
The men make cooing noises at the hug, Luhan either choosing to ignore this or totally oblivious. Hangeng watches his brother speed off, waving with one hand, the other throwing a spear at the group of men.
“Go clean the stables! I want the floor sparkling and the place to smell like peonies!”
In the distance Luhan has started skipping, singing to himself. Above the clouds gather, shutting out the sunlight and Hangeng shivers, feeling like a thousand icicles have pierced him. Kuixian stamps the ground, nervous, and Hangeng leads him quickly to the stables, indoors, away from the open fields and the forest above.
The road leading from the barracks back into the city stretches before him, Luhan kicking up dust in his glee, plucking flowers at random and tossing the petals haphazardly into the grass. A chance to prove to Hangeng he could shoot, to prove to everyone he could do it! His mind drifts off into his wonderland, receiving praises from his father and other officials, his brother finally acknowledging him as a man. Run. Yixing’s voice breaks into his daydream, shatters the happy picture. Run. Luhan looks around to see if his friend is hiding, hiding somewhere along the road since he can’t possibly be hearing things.
“This isn’t funny Yixing,” says Luhan, scanning the fields. The harvest may be over but the remnants of the stalks remain, a dirty green.
Something behind him snaps-a twig-and he freezes without understanding, body reacting instinctively even as his mind denies it.
“Come on Yixing, you think I’d fall for your tricks?”
Rustling, loud cracks as something moves towards him, Luhan turning to look behind him.
RUN!
The word sears into his brain and he bolts, confused and frightened. The sound of crops being trampled gets louder, moves closer even as the city looms into view. There’s a bend in the road ahead, a right turn that will lead him to the main city gate, into safety. As he turns there’s a flash of red, a horrible snarling and Luhan screams, turning into the field of dead corn. The plants whip his face, catch at his clothing but he runs, trying to move away from the sound. As he runs he realizes he’s unarmed, no knife or sword to help him apart from the useless bow on his back and a quiver full of broken arrows.
Faster Luhan!
“Shut up Yixing!” he yells, “Shut up and help me!” If you’re even there at all.
The field seems to go on forever and he can barely see over the top of them, but the further he runs, the more tired he gets, each step takes him one step further from the city. It hits him like a rush of cold air, he’s being hunted. It’s exactly the way an animal would do it, driving the prey away from the herd and cutting it down alone. He jumps, trying to find the way back but something pins him with a feeling so cold his legs lose their strength and he falls to the ground. He can feel it, the sound of his heart, pumping blood without effect, limbs useless in his fear. Get up! Get up! With effort he pushes himself up and away, breathing growing more ragged as the sunlight fades, the sunset muted by the coming storm. Luhan runs blindly, relying on his gut instinct to lead him home. In the corner of his eye he can see a dark shape closing in on his left, but it disappears, only to reappear on his right, blending in with the scenery. Veering to the side he backtracks, hoping to lose it if only for a second. Faster, run faster!
“Someone, help me,” Luhan breathes, eyes squeezed shut, telling himself he’s not as afraid as he really is. I’m going to die.
The snarl explodes behind him, the force of the sound causing him to stumble, hot breath at his heels and Luhan screams, crashing into something. His hands grasp fur and he beats it furiously, fists pounding and legs kicking before he pulled against its chest, each movement weakening as his the adrenalin leaves him and despair sets in. Slowly, two hands pull him away, warm upon his shoulders and Luhan sees the damp fur-he’d been crying. He looks up, at fine cheekbones and shadowed eyes that flash gold, sees a mouth moving. The darkness has never felt so comfortable as he slips away, staring at the gold.
Run
A/N: So after writing a little apocalyptic EXO fic and ending exams I finally posted this. Sorry for the wait and thanks to those who commented :) Merry Krismas!