Chapter Text
The first time Jungkook ever set foot outside of Terabithia, the realm of the Black Wolves, was when he was just a little pup. He’d been out playing by himself, having developed quite a skill for sneaking away from the pack and running off on his own. His mother would scold him without fail when he came back, but his father always insisted that their realm was safe and guarded, protected by the river of Mortuus, and that it was good for a possible future pack leader to roam around the grounds and learn about its borders.
On this day, he had run off on his own chasing birds around the shallow waters of Mortuus, the river that ran along the edges of Terabithia. While it was a beautiful river, it’s water a clear sparkling blue, Jungkook had been taught from an early age that within its depths, many dangers lured.
The river was the main protection of his realm, dug by his ancestors to shield them from dangers, and provide their grounds with life. When someone died in Terabithia, their body was sacrificed to the river, so that they could give back the life they had borrowed. There was a mist coming from the middle of the river that one could not see through, and it was said that the spirits of their ancestors lived on within it, watching over them and keeping them safe. Concerning what laid on the other side, Jungkook had only heard fairytales of.
Today, however, Jungkook was in for quite an adventure.
Having hopped onto a group of rocks, he jumped high up in the air in an attempt to catch the pretty little Starlings flying around his head. He let out a small whine when he missed a particularly low flying one, and watched how it landed on another group of rocks, a bit further out. He looked around himself, measuring the distance between where he was at and the other formation of rocks, before he decided to go for the jump. Taking a few steps back, Jungkook made the leap and just barely made it over, his claws gripping onto anything and everything to keep him from falling into the waters.
The Starling had flown off the moment Jungkook had lept, but as he got back up on the rock, Jungkook’s focus wasn’t on the bird anymore anyway.
Looking ahead of himself, he noticed a barely visible path of rocks that lead straight into the mist, their soft gray color almost blending with the water as the blue shifted to a darker shade the further out he got. Although a little bit hesitant, curiosity still got the better of him as he began to carefully make his way across the river, one wobbly jump at a time.
From what he knew, there was no known path across the river. Jungkook knew that very few made their way out to this desolate part of Terabithia, and maybe that’s why this path had remained unknown. He looked up at the sun, realizing it must be the low tide that made the rock formation visible. He’d have to get back here within a few hours, or the rocks would be back under water.
Heart beating fast, Jungkook carefully followed the path into the mist, noticing the water shift from a clear, deep blue, to an almost pitch black. Although nervous, Jungkook’s curiosity always got the better of him, so he continued forward through the mist, jumping from one rock to the other, taking his time before finally, for the first time in his life, he got a glimpse of what was on the other side.
His breath hitched in his throat as he stared ahead of himself at the vast wasteland that laid ahead of him, its gray, rocky ground not very inviting compared to the green, soft grass covering the grounds of Terabithia.
With one last leap, Jungkook made it safely to the other side, his paws digging a little at the strange ground underneath him. It was all dried up, creating a small cloud of dust as he dug into it. He couldn’t see life ever finding its way back into the soil he stood upon anytime soon. He also found himself wondering how something could be so dead when resting right next to a water source, it made no sense.
He looked around himself, digging a few holes in front of where the path laid so that he’d be able to find it again, before he began to walk, keeping an eye on the sun to keep track of its position. He opted to head straight ahead, as to his sides he could see nothing but miles and miles of wasteland, empty of any sort of life, while straight ahead, far in the distance, he thought himself see… well, something at least.
He diligently kept heading straight ahead for a good while, taking notice that there were no birds as far as the eye could see, no bugs crawling on the ground, just dust and rocks. Feeling a bit unnerved at being so utterly exposed, he picked up his pace, breaking into a run until he finally reached the something he'd seen.
He stared in awe as he noticed thick, massive moss-covered beech trees standing tall in front of him, roots gnarled, lined up far beyond what Jungkook could see. It seemed as if they were deliberately planted that way, to create a border to what Jungkook could only guess was another realm. It was like the river of Terabithia, only it was trees.
Hesitant, Jungkook walked along the very outskirt, trying to get a glimpse of anything inside the forest but the trees grew so thick he could only see but a few feet inside before the shadows ate up any light coming from the sun. He sat down, ears perked as he tried to listen for any kind of sound or movement, but it was almost as if the sounds of the forest were muted, distant, despite being right in front of him, as if a sort of protective shield was covering whatever hid inside. His instincts were screaming at him to turn back, but curiosity as always got the better of this young pup.
Letting out a small whine, his head tilted to the side in confusion he got back up and moved just a little bit closer. Once in front of one of the trees, he mustered up enough courage to reach his paw out in an attempt to touch one of the thick roots poking out from the ground. Hearing a rustle to his left, however, followed by a low snarl, Jungkook quickly withdrew his paw and jumped back to where he’d been.
Staring wide eyed, he watched how a smaller wolf stepped out from the shadows of the trees. Just a few feet down from where he was.
Judging from its size, it was a pup like him, which was a relief to say the least. Unlike him however, its fur wasn’t black, instead it was a pearly white, looking very soft with its gentle curls. He watched as iridescent shimmers made all kinds of different colors dance across its fur, shifting with the changes of the light as he moved. Its eyes were an icey blue, with black edges, sharp and intimidating. His tail was a lot more fluffy compared to his own, as were the fur around his paws. Jungkook had never seen a wolf like it.
It looked… magical, for lack of a better word.
Jungkook hesitated, eying the other wolf before he let out a small bark, a greeting of sorts. He stepped back a little, giving the other wolf space, his ears perked up to show he was attentive but not threatening. Paws coming in front of himself in a playful bow, he tried his best to show the other wolf he wasn’t there to cause harm.
The white wolf continued to watch him with that intense stare, walking slowly from side to side, letting out little growls and snarls, in complete attack mode despite Jungkook being the slightly bigger one of the two. Jungkook couldn’t help but to find the courage of the smaller wolf impressive.
Jungkook did his little puppy jump yet again before crouching, lowering himself to not seem as intimidating, laying still and remaining calm. He could sense the other wasn’t quite as confident as it tried to make itself seem, so he didn’t necessarily feel threatened were he to come for him.
If he had the rest of his pack hiding in the forest, however… Jungkook would be toast. Literally. A snack before bedtime.
The white wolf suddenly stopped growling, its posture changing. Jungkook looked a little confused for a second before he too noticed what had grabbed the attention of the other wolf.
Turning his head, he watched how a small, white little fluffy thing appeared floating out from the depths of the forest. For a moment, Jungkook thought that maybe it was a seed from a Cottonwood tree, he’d seen those floating around at home, but as he kept on watching it, he noticed it was moving on it’s own accord, the movements slow but calculated, coming straight towards him.
Glancing at the white wolf who was staring intensely at the little ball of fluff, Jungkook raised a paw in an attempt to punch it away from himself, only to be stopped by the white wolf letting out another growl, indicating for him not to move.
Hesitantly putting his paw back down on the ground, he watched how the strange little white ball of fluff began to bounce gently in the air around him, circling his body, before settling down on the top of his head. Jungkook let out a small growl, not quite fond of letting an unknown species sit at the top of his head, but as the white wolf finally stopped pacing, Jungkook too remained still.
Eventually, the little white ball lifted back up into the air, floating back towards the forest before it disappeared back into the shadows, leaving the two wolves alone.
To Jungkook’s big surprise, with that, the white wolf's entire demeanor seemed to change. He was no longer pacing and showing his canines, he stood calm, his ears falling to the side, his tail wagging a little. It hesitated a little, before it finally moved closer to Jungkook, poking his snout out and nudging it to Jungkooks, offering a greeting.
Jungkook, very happy to see the change, got back up and returned the greeting, pushing it playfully against the white wolf before repeating the playful bow and running off a little. Turning to look back at the white wolf, he let out a small bark, hopping in place, ushering him to chase him.
After a bit of hesitation, the white wolf couldn’t help but to give into his puppy instincts as he ran after the bigger wolf, beginning an intense session of play catch across the sandy dunes of the wasteland surrounding them.
Unsure of how much time had passed, Jungkook panted as he allowed the smaller wolf to catch up and pounce onto him one last time, giving him the last win of the game as he rolled onto his back. The white wolf let out a playful bark of excitement at having won and for some reason, it made Jungkook feel happy.
Getting up, he nudged the others side with his snout, praising him just like he would the smaller pups in his own pack. Jungkook wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not, but a soft shade of pink seemed to slither through strands of white on the back of the wolves neck. Whatever it was, it was mesmerizing to look at.
Suddenly, his ears perked.
Although it was faint, he could hear his pack howling from the other side of the mist, calling for the pups and hunters spread out over the land to come home. He looked at the sun, noticing it was beginning to set, then back at the white wolf who just continued to watch him curiously, one of its ears directed towards the sound.
Letting out a whine at having to leave, Jungkook nudged the other yet again with his snout, feeling strangely excited as the other wolf hesitantly returned the gesture.
That’s when he heard it.
Will you come play with me again sometime?
Jungkook let out a sound in confusion, wondering if he was dreaming. He was sure he’d just heard a voice speak those words, but as they were both in wolf form, there was no way he could’ve actually spoken. He looked around himself, wondering if there was a human present.
Can you hear me?
Jungkook stared back at the other, big brown eyes blinking, and nodded hesitantly, head tilting to the side yet again.
Can you not speak like this?
Jungkook shook his head, baffled at being able to hear the others voice in his head. While I was a lovely voice, soft and gentle, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d gone absolutely insane.
Do you have a home?
Jungkook nodded, and the white wolf looked almost relieved.
You should hurry, it’ll get dark soon. You can’t stay here, Eremus isn’t safe after dark.
Jungkook whined, not wanting to leave yet, but knowing he had to he nudged the white wolf one last time, bidding his goodbye. The white wolf returned the action, his furr yet again shifting to a soft pink color by the neck.
Turning back, Jungkook headed back towards the path of rocks that would lead him back to Terabithia. Once he was halfway there, he turned to look back towards the forest where he could faintly see the silhouette of the white wolf in front of the shadows, keeping an eye on Jungkook as he walked away.
With a bit of a struggle as the tide had gone back up, he just barely made his way back over the rocks, the water making it slippery. Had it been another hour, he wouldn’t have made it back. The thought of being stuck alone in the wasteland made him shudder all over.
Trudging back home, his mind was spinning with excitement over the day he’d had.
Excited to have a new, mysterious friend, Jungkook couldn’t help but look forward to seeing him again.