Collision

Chapter 87

Each step was jarring. Raw. The wind rushing past his fur, the branches twisting to reach out, as if welcoming him home. It was accelerating. He pushed himself faster, almost laughing in delight at the way his legs eat up the ground.

The scents.

The sounds.

Glancing to his left, he catches sight of raven fur. Jeongguk was running by his side, tongue lolling out, and his lope keeping pace with Yoongi. His pine scent was saccharine with sheer happiness.

Spurring himself on, Yoongi leapt over the roots and pushed himself faster. It was like an unofficial race, a test to see how well Yoongi can do.

He wasn't perfect. He stumbled, nearly collapsing against the ground many times, and Jeongguk easily ran past him and took the lead. He weaved them through the trees, twisting and turning.

Yoongi would constantly have to stop, focus on turning and making sure that he didn't forget his hind quarters (again) and then continue running. Jeongguk was ever patient, always pausing and waiting until Yoongi picked up speed again, and then pressed them further into the woods.

Everything was burning. His legs ached to keep up, and his lungs were gasping for air as they finally slowed to a trot as they stepped into the clearing. The sunlight filtered through the trees, brightening the snow as Yoongi looked around in surprise.

"Darling, this is-"

"The clearing where we howled together," Jeongguk finishes, settling on his haunches. Yoongi plops himself into the snow, sighing at the feeling of the cold snow against his overly hot belly. "How did it feel?"

"Being a wolf?" Yoongi questions, turning his head to peer into Jeongguk's eyes. He nods, a low sound going through his throat. "It feels right. Better than I ever could have imagined."

Jeongguk searches his face, shuffling his body closer and then laying his head on top of his front paws. Yoongi studies the action, and then copies it. He feels the tenison from his neck ease and he sighs in comfort.

"Did you really want to be a wolf?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I really did."

Jeongguk cracks open an eye, but otherwise doesn't move. "Why?"

"To be with you."

And it was true. Everytime he wished he could be a Lycan, it was always so that he could keep pace with the one person who brought life back into him.

Jeongguk didn't say anything after that.

Then again, Yoongi didn't really expect him to. They were content with lying side by side, breathing in the fresh winter air, and the coolness of the snow against their stomachs.

Reality, though, has a funny way of catching up to them. Yoongi knew he needed to get back. Face his close friends, face Namjoon, and finish coming to terms with his new life. His new reality.

Nudging Jeongguk with his shoulder, Yoongi gets to his feet and shakes off the snow that had begun to weigh down his fur. Jeongguk whined, but got to his feet with a single warning growl from Yoongi.

Together, they returned to the forest. It was a much slower pace, a steady trot, and Yoongi took this time to learn to follow their scents. It wasn't as easy as he was expecting- learning to be able to pull apart the abundance of smells and follow the specific ones he wanted.

It seemed to be a talent, one that Taehyung had mentioned that Jimin was more than equipped with, and he made a mental note to ask Jimin for some tips, because half of the time he just wanted to sneeze and cover his nose to clear his airways from some... less than desirable smells.