Legacy of Snow Ch. 15 || Stray Kids
Fandom: Stray Kids
Relationships: Han Jisung x Lee Minho
Freshly graduated from a prestigious university for music and the arts, Han Jisung is ready to take on the world when he accepts employment at District 325 Records. Han’s dream of taking the world by storm with his talent hits a slight hiccup when a literal spark emanates from a high five he shares with his new boss. That moment brings him to the discovery that he is a direct descendant of a previous Pretear, a guardian to the world. With that knowledge he also finds that Chan isn’t entirely human, he’s what is called a Leafé Knight and he isn’t the only one who resides in the human realm.
Thrust into a fray of magic, learning his own abilities and fighting monsters of darkness, Han has a lot to endure fresh out of college. On top of it all, he has to deal with a growing attraction to one of the seven knights who fight alongside him. It’s a whirlwind for Han, but can he find his footing in the new world he’s found himself a part of?
[[Check Out the Legacy of Snow Commission Series here!]]
Taglist: @no1likemybbgcharlie, @spookidema
☼ ☽ ☆ ⁑ ☼ ☽ ☆ ⁑ ☼ ☽ ☆ ⁑ ☼ ☽ ☆ ⁑ ☼ ☽ ☆ ⁑
Previous || Masterlist || Next
[[MORE]]
The familiar weight of Minho’s soul bonded to his own makes Han’s heart race, but he did his best to focus. ‘Minho?’
“I’m here, Quokka.” Minho assured.
‘I’ve never actually fought.’ Han thought, worry in his voice. ‘And I don’t know how to access your leafe.’
“How have you accessed it with the others?” Minho asked. “Was it an emotion, music?”
‘It’s been different for everyone-’ He felt the now uncomfortable sensation of Minho pulling away to block an attack, flipping mid air and landing gracefully in front of Han in attire greatly different from the casual clothes he’d worn moments prior.
“I can help you get to Yeji so you can get her off the ice, but we have to be quick.” Minho began with a single hand held up, eyes not leaving the crystalline, amorphous shape that growled with black orbs for eyes. “Chan, Hyunjin and Jeongin are en route.”
“What do you mean?”
Minho raised his free hand, a gust of power skittering over the ice, creating a pathway to where Yeji lay unconscious on the ice. “Get her moved, then come back to me, Quokka. The guys are almost here.”
Han could only stare for a long moment, taking in how Minho’s eyes seemed to glow, fierce determination in his eyes as he deflected another strike from the frozen beast with ease and barely more than a grunt of pain. The sight of blood coming to the surface along the elder male’s cheek sent Han into action and he scrambled towards Yeji, cradling her to him as he made his way along the adjusted path and set her on one of the benches. He made sure she was comfortable and turned to start back to where Minho was.
“Han!” Chan’s voice pulled Han’s attention as he appeared with Hyunjin and Jeongin, the trio stopping near the edge of the ice.
With one last worried look at where Yeji lay, Han bolted back onto the ice. “Across the rink!” he called, using the path Minho had formed to run over the usually slick ice and take the ice knight’s hand again. The moment he felt the familiar weight of the transformation, he opened his eyes and nodded. “Go!”
“Beyondios.” Jeongin chanted, his locket coming to life to seal the barrier that would separate the battle from the real world.
“Quokka, are you okay?” Minho asked.
“I’m fine, let’s handle this so we can help Yeji.”
“Yeji will be fine once we defeat the larvae.” Minho answered.
“Han, we can handle things while you find your trigger.” Jeongin confirmed, hovering near him. “You’ve done it before, you can do it again.”
Han nodded, letting his eyes close as he centered his thoughts. The trigger to each of the other knights had been in letting them into his subconscious, some kind of bond forming that allowed him to better see the weapon he wanted to create. He sought out the power he held, aware of the way the silver and blue cloth of his Ice Pretear form shifted as the trio defended him. When a sudden force shoved him back, he heard Minho hiss sharply, and his eyes widened. “Minho?!”
“I’m okay. Just focus.”
“Are you hurt?”
“Focus, Han.”
The sound of his name coming from Minho made him startle, his heart skipping because it only made him more worried. In the same moment, he felt the power surge and the warmth in his hands as his magic opened; both an elegant, double bladed katana and a beautiful bow and arrows appearing in his mind.
“Good boy.” Minho praised. “Now that you’re able to tap into your magic, look for the core.”
Han ignored the shiver that rippled through him, pink eyes searching. “What does it look like?”
“I wish I knew the answer to that, quokka.” Minho answered. “All I can do is lend you your magic.”
Han pursed his lips and pushed himself from the ice, letting himself hover as his eyes scanned the creature before him. “The core can be anywhere, right?” he asked. He used his magic to roll midair, avoiding an attack and ending up near Chan. “One attack to the core and this ends?”
Chan nodded, though violet eyes didn’t leave their enemy. “There should be something you can see that’s different about the larvae. A dark spot or even a seed.”
Han let his eyes return to the monster, its icy form spiked with sharp icicles that seemed to double as projectiles. “Okay. I can do this.” He closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath to center himself before reopening them. He scanned over the form, pink eyes widening when he spotted a pulsing section near the beast’s shoulder. ‘Minho.’
“Take what you need.” Minho assured, and Han nodded, focusing as he moved to summon the leafe he controlled, and from it, a bow and arrow made of glistening ice. With skill not his own, Han drew the arrow back with three fingers, letting it fly. The creature noticed too late, the arrow hitting home as a loud screech echoed around all of them. The mass cracked and broke away, and as it vanished, the barrier around them faded, everyone getting to the edge of the rink to check on Yeji.
Han worried over her, but saw no blood, and when Yeji’s eyes opened, he gave a bright smile. “Hey there, pretty girl.”
“What happened?” Yeji groaned.
“An uneven place on the ice,” Hyunjin replied. “Minho went to get the zamboni guy, asked if we’d take you to get checked out.”
“I don’t even remember falling…” Yeji mused.
“It was a pretty nasty spill, Yeji. Please go get looked at? Just to be safe, at least.” Han urged. He helped her up, Hyunjin taking his sister’s arm to help keep her steady before leading her out with Chan carrying her bag. Han began to gather Minho’s things when something caught his eye. It glistened just a few feet away, but trailed in the direction Jeongin and Minho had gone once the barrier was gone and the seed destroyed. Stepping closer, he squatted down, one hand dipping to touch; only for his fingers to come back red.
Blood red.
Fear clenching his chest, Han bolted to follow the trail. “Minho! Jeongin!” he called frantically, searching wildly as he made his way down one of the halls to a dressing room. His hand grabbed the wall as he practically spun around it, stopping when he found Minho topless, Jeongin’s hand glowing emerald as he focused on the wound that angled over Minho’s side. “Oh my god, what happened?” he closed the distance, hitting his knees on the concrete floor as he dropped in front of Minho.
“Don’t touch.” Jeongin huffed. “I’m working on it.”
“Working on- you mean this was worse?” Han demanded, eyes looking up at Minho.
“Don’t go freaking out, Quokka.” Minho half laughed, pain laced through the sound. “We all signed up for this.”
“What do you-” Han stopped as he remembered the way Minho had hissed in the battle. “You were hurt, weren’t you?”
“Hyung, it’s okay. I can heal Minho-hyung no problem.” Jeongin assured.
“That’s not the point!” Han argued. “How did you get hurt when I’m perfectly fine?!”
“We are your shield and sword, Han.” Minho stated. “We take the hits for you because our leafe is stronger.”
“I should at least take some of the hit, though. We’re a team.”
“Han, it’s okay.” Jeongin replied, though his bright green eyes didn’t look at the older male. “Honestly, we’ve handled worse on our own.” The words made Han stop, looking between the fauna knight and the ice, gaining confirmation as Minho nodded. “At least three of us have had extremely close calls in the last couple of years.”
“Three of you?”
“Hyunjin, Felix, and myself.” Minho answered. “I expected to be worse off when we separated, honestly.”
“Perhaps being preeted protects us to a degree?” Jeongin offered.
“Something we’ll have to ask the sunshine boy.” Minho deflected, letting his gaze move to Han. “Are you okay, though?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“I don’t mean physically.” Minho corrected, face going droll. There was a long silence, Minho watching Han, who had become quite interested in the design of the locker room suddenly. Jeongin, noting the tension, lowered his hands and gave a nod.
“It shouldn’t scar this time,” he informed. “But I’d take it easy for a day or two, let it finish knitting fully on its own.”
“Pity. That scar I wouldn’t mind.” Minho chuckled, reaching for his shirt.
“Minho!” Han gaped, his look incredulous as his eyes ripped back to the purple haired male.
“I’ll be on my way, then. Go check on Chan and Hyunjin-hyungs.” Jeongin mused, standing and moving towards the exit. “You two be careful, yeah?”
“Of course.” Minho assured, nodding to his friend. The moment Jeongin was no longer in the room, he allowed Han to smack at his shoulder.
“What the fuck, Minho?” Han cursed. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt? I could have switched with one of the others.”
“This was your first actual battle, Quokka.” Minho countered. “You needed to focus on it, not on me.”
“I can handle both.” Han argued.
“Protecting the human realm - our realm - is the most important. You’re the key to keeping everyone safe. I’m disposable.”
“No one is disposable!” Han half-yelled, flailing his arms. “Not you, not any of the others, not me. How can you say that so casually?!”
“Quokka, it isn’t-”
“Don’t even try to argue with me about this. You have people who give a damn, Minho. People who love you, and would be heartbroken if you died.” Emotion was obvious in his voice as he stared at Minho, anger distorting his face.
“I’m fine, really. I meant it as a joke.”
“Death isn’t a joke, Minho. It’s something permanent and painful.” Han deflated as he spoke, the lights catching the tears in his eyes and hitting Minho like a slap to the face. “Death is something that can’t be fixed or taken back.”
“Hey, Quokka,” Minho moved to step closer, but stopped when Han jerked away from the touch.
“No, Minho.” Han took a breath, trying to steady himself. “You were hurt, no, you could have died, because of me. Don’t you understand how that would have hurt me?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Minho stopped, watching the way Han seemed to crumble before him, launching himself forward to catch the younger man before Han hit the ground. “Hey, hey, it’s okay.” he soothed, practically cradling Han to him. “Breathe, my quokka.” Fingers brushed through orange strands, whiplash setting in from the speed of Han’s mood changing. “I’m right here, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to upset you, but there’s no reason to fall apart.” It felt like everything had frozen beyond their moment; Han wrapped securely in Minho’s arms as he let himself feel the high and low of his first real battle against the Shadow Princess. It wasn’t his emotions that worried him, though.
It was the reminder of a nightmare with lifeless blue eyes.
