⚝ forest。

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@hyunjin h。ˢᵃᵘᶜʸᴶ "Many things are difficult to put into words, which is okay. What I want you to know, though, is that being 'normal' is quite honestly unattainable. We all have parts, attributes, or features that make us out of the ordinary and far from normal. Besides, the definition itself is subjective. What you consider normal is different than what I consider normal and so on... Not that my opinion necessarily matters right now, but with all that I have learned about you and all that I have gotten to experience while being around you- the excitement, the habits, the hobbies, /everything/, trying to imagine you without that uniqueness that belongs solely to you is... well, it would make you bland and not the person I developed feelings for." Very blunt. His usual. Although, each and every word was full of nothing but the truth. Sehun watched as the other swallowed, feeding him a bit more after the initial bite before closing the container and setting it off to his side. "Does the soup taste fine? I remember you said that you would not be able to enjoy a whole lot of it." Regardless, Sehun didn't want the imp to be without nourishment. He wasn't sure of the last time Hyunjin had anything to eat or drink. And maybe...he didn't want to know. "Do you believe them? Do you believe that you are someone who does not deserve to be happy when you have spent so long making sure others were content? You have already proven that you are way more than just what you are supposed to be. Doing evil is a choice, and you chose the opposite. There is nothing wrong with that." A pause. "You have all of those things, or at least most of them, now, yes? You have support, Hyunjin. You have all of your friends, you have me...and we are all here to take care of you in any way that we can. I promise, you deserve happiness as much as anyone else, if not more. You just need to believe that yourself." The imp reaching out to him was quickly returned with a firm, yet comforting squeeze to his hand before he linked fingers and slowly brushed his thumb back and forth across the warm flesh. His free hand then lifted and swiped that tear away from Hyunjin's eye, palm resting gently against his cheek afterward. "You are not making me or forcing me to do anything. I started caring for you all on my own because of who you are, and I would not have it any other way. My feelings are wholeheartedly genuine, and I...well, I never thought I would ever say that, especially when I was not expecting nor looking to find another being who I matched with so well. I do not see you as an insect. I see you as a partner, a companion, a good soul I want to be around... I see you as selfless, someone fighting his own battles yet still tries to make those around him happy and feel comforted. I see you as carefree, a huge ball of energy...who has gotten me to laugh more times than I probably have in my entire life. Most importantly, though...I see you as...home."

@sehun o。ᵒʰˢᵉ "You-... Hmm... It's difficult to ex-plain," Hyunjin's voice cracked as he finally managed to change his position to a more accommodating one. The following got the imp frowning. Not because it was unpleasant to hear, quite the opposite. However, with the parallel of what he's been told a few days ago, none of it felt as good as it should. Although, as soon as the first press of lips, followed by two more, happened, the crease between his brows disappeared, and however weak he'd felt, he still managed to instinctively chase the warm lips that have left his after a brief, promising peck. "Don't worry. One wrong move and I'll turn into a deadly firework..." It wasn't as exaggerated as it might have sounded. One uncalculated move, the slightest tear in the imp's healing wounds, and these healing fires would be out of control. The fires are intentionally set in the imp's wounds, creating a slow, painful and uncomfortable treatment of his injuries, yet he has to constantly focus the flames in the certain spots, avoid them from spreading and possibly starting some devastating wild fires. Therefore, if the wound opens again, the new space creates an uncontrolled outlet, which is enough to ignite a human-sized imp-torch. "Mm, yes sir," the chuckle he let out trailed into a pained hiss, but it was soon drowned by a mouthful of dumpling soup. Just as he'd expected, the delicious taste he expected only lasted for a brief moment before the rest turned into an ashy taste, his body heat burning the food almost instantly. Even so, the brisk initial delight of the little happiness in the taste of the food of his beloved person was enough to make him eat more. "You know what's funny? It's not this that truly hurts. What they... What they've told me, why they summoned me... That's what hurts. I am not supposed to be happy, Sehun. I'm a devil, a demon, a bad omen, thing, malice, villain. I'm supposed to deceive and cheat gluttonous people for my own pleasure. That is what's supposed to make me happy," Hyunjin slowly spoke, his busted eye with the other bright blue, glowing with his magic, were focused on one of his lower flaming wounds. "They said things that I desire are things I don't deserve. I'm not supposed to... to be free, to have friends, to have a job, to... to fall in love," he trailed off, glancing up at Sehun quickly before averting his eyes again. "They showed me what it would feel like if I got what I wanted. This is what I would have to go through if I had friends, if I had a job, if I fell in love. The pain, the hurt, the broken everything that takes forever to heal. I... Friends would betray, job would let down, love would... It's all a naive wish that I have. A wish that can't be granted. So if I'm not lying... if I'm not playing the puppet master to create my own delusions, to manipulate everyone to play my game just so I can feed my blind desire to be what I'm not, I cannot be happy. As long as I'm not fulfilling the reason why I was created, I shouldn't be happy." A sigh and a wince later, Hyunjin was afraid to speak more. He was afraid to tell Sehun that why they summoned him was to remind him that if he remains as he is now, he will sooner or later be retained back to hell. He was afraid to even acknowledge that such a thing could happen, that he never really was free. He's never really been his own person because he always had an owner, a creator, someone who could kick him out of hell for being too good of a prankster and take him back to torture him for being too good of a soul. He feared what could come. He was scared of why they let him back out if they clearly intended to capture him again. With a glance up at Sehun, his eye watery, his bruised lips quivering, his weak hand reaching for Sehun's, he knew exactly why they let him out. To grant him his wish and show him the real deal. To make him crawl back, begging. "Am I truly making you care about me?" He realized he was silently crying, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "Am I truly just forcing you all to- 'Like an insect causing people to swat at it'," he quoted the demons miserably, sobbing under his breath. "I don't want it to be like that. I don't want to be like that. I don't want you to see me like that. I don't..."

@hyunjin h。ˢᵃᵘᶜʸᴶ "Who in this town is 'normal'?" He grunted out. "Anyone who sees you as a pest is dead wrong. Or, perhaps, they are merely jealous that they are unable to have as much energy as you or are unable to bring joy to those around them as easily as you can. A pest is...a pest is not something I would ever describe you as." His voice was much softer now as he leaned in to plant a gentle kiss on the imp's forehead, nose, and finally, lips. "He would be asking for more than just injuries, I am afraid." No, the beast would want nothing more than to take advantage of the other male and finish the job that had already been started. Not on Sehun's watch, however. He'd do everything within his power to keep that from happening. "Good, then eat until you are full," Sehun instructed, lifting the spoon up in front of Hyunjin's mouth. "This would be the first time I am seeing such devastating burns. If I worked in the emergency department, maybe that could have changed my answer. "But, please, do not apologize. I insisted on coming. And...regardless of looks, you are still the same Hyunjin I care for and desire."

@sehun o。ᵒʰˢᵉ "Normal?" Hyunjin said after a moment of hesitation, chuckling painfully afterwards. "Not this... /thing/ everyone thinks is a pest," he proclaimed, trying to twist his still burning hand to test it's reactivity. The imp remained silent, watching Sehun maneuver himself closer. With his 'good' eye, he tried to convey everything that he could, how he felt, how everything was just crumbling inside and around him. "At this point, he would be the one asking for injuries," the imp snickered, addressing the fire pits in every open wound. When he noticed the wendigo trying to come closer, reach him as best he could, the flames decreased in intensity. "You're not ignorant. And I would never say no to your cooking," Hyunjin smiled through the pain of trying to rearrange his body to a somewhat elevated position. "You don't see this often at the hospital, do you?" he chuckled before breaking into a cough. "Sorry you have to see me like this."

@hyunjin h。ˢᵃᵘᶜʸᴶ Somehow that being the target of their torment made the wendigo all the more upset. "What do you want to be?" He asked, crouching down for a brief moment to his backpack and pull out a small spoon and thermos filled with dumpling soup. "Happiness is not up to anyone but yourself. They do not know if you will become happy now, in the future, or ever. But if you start believing that they are right, then they win." Sehun pointed out as he straightened himself up again and made his way over closer. "Right now, they do. You are the focus." After unscrewing the thermos' lid, he popped the spoon into the soup and eyed the other. While he felt rather surprised about the curse word falling from the Hyunjin's lips, that wasn't his main concern. "Do not tempt him. I am sure he would not be too picky when he knows how I feel about you." Frowning, Sehun tried his best to position himself in a spot where the fire wouldn't harm him yet still allow him to reach the imp. "Do you think you could handle some of this soup? It is hot, so...would that help heal you at all? Or am I being ignorant?"

@sehun o。ᵒʰˢᵉ If it wouldn't hurt, he'd laugh. "Nothing of that sort," he rasped, trying to rearrange his limbs to no avail. "They wanted to let me know that I'll never be who I want to be, which isn't that far from the truth," the imp admitted, glancing down at his burning wounds. They were right, he would never be normal. "And that I'll never be happy. Which, again, sounds somewhat reasonable despite all my delusions," he smiled weakly, closing his eye to take a coarse breath. "I don't think those things cancel each other out," he smiled, trying hard to keep it together. "Oh, does he? I bet he likes it bleeding and not very ing well done," Hyunjin laughed, before realising what he'd just let slip out. if he could, he'd slap a hand over his mouth and beg for forgiveness, but instead, the laugh turned into agony which forced the imp to burst into a nasty cough right after, the flames around them growing with the pressure.

@hyunjin h。ˢᵃᵘᶜʸᴶ His lips pressed together into a thin line. "I am not a fool. It is definitely as bad as it looks, if not worse. What the hell did they expect to accomplish by torturing you to the point of dismemberment?" He spat out, venom lacing his words. "Entertainment purposes? Amusement? They should have known that you were not going to do what they wanted... and just stopped." If there was a way he could take on the demons who caused all of this, he would without hesitation. Sehun imagined he'd most likely lose pretty badly, but it...would be worth it. The wendigo lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a long, slow breath, attempting to calm himself down. Excessive anger right here, right now, would not be pleasant for either of them. "You are the one injured, and yet you are asking me if I am okay. Which, I am. Our 'friend' is merely trying to investigate for himself."

@sehun o。ᵒʰˢᵉ "Good few hours," Hyunjin responded raspily, moving the regrown fingers on his right hand. His breathing was weak, every inhale was accompanied by pain and every exhale was followed by an odd coarse guttural sound. "It's... not as bad as it looks," with a miserable chuckle, Hyunjin tried to downplay the damage, breaking into a dry cough afterwards. "You good?" Opening one oddly blue colored eye to look at Sehun, while the other was swollen to the point of blindness, Hyunjin tried to gauge the other's honest reaction. The last thing he needed was causing the other some trauma or harm.

@hyunjin h。ˢᵃᵘᶜʸᴶ Taking care to avoid any and all flames, he stepped closer and tugged his bag off, setting it where the fire couldn't reach. If it hadn't been for his job, and, well, what he was, perhaps he would've averted his gaze and kept his distance. But no, the wendigo scanned the other's body as his heart ached and his anger flared. What a combination- complete compassion and boiling rage mixing together deep within. And, to top it all off, the beast stirred once more, making his presence known with a guttural growl that shook Sehun to the core. "Not now," he uttered to himself, knowing how antsy /he/ would get from seeing such a scene and smelling the burnt flesh. "I am sure. While I did not know exactly how you would look, I made sure to prepare myself for the worst. How long have you been like...this...?"

@sehun o。ᵒʰˢᵉ Only the sky and the tall crowns of the forest trees knew how bad the imp had it. He knew where it hurt, he saw where pieces of him were missing, though those were the superficial wounds. The real pain was in a place his eyes could not reach. With caution out the window, he lay in the middle of a damp clearing, surrounded by dry sticks which soon caught fire along with his body to keep the devilkin warm. There were open wounds all over his body and face, leaking with syrupy dark matter that smelled of wet ash and easily caught fire, his ribcage was broken in so many places that Hyunjin wondered how it still held shape, and if it weren't for the considerably long time since his return, he would still be a few digits short. Amidst the crackling of the fire and his bones taking their sweet time regrowing, Hyunjin heard his name being called. "I'm here, in the fiery pit," he said, raising an uninjured arm high enough to be seen above the controlled flames. "Are you sure you don't want to cover your eyes? Or walk away?"

@hyunjin h。ˢᵃᵘᶜʸᴶ With the usual routine down, it did, indeed, take Sehun approximately two minutes to fill Vivi and Monsieur's food bowls, pat their heads, and be on his way. The town's forest... the mere thought of the dense, secluded area stirred the beast inside for a moment. He often chose to end his victims there, and waking up to a mangled, lifeless body would be a haunting image Sehun's mind could never erase. Yet, even when Hyunjin mentioned that had been where he'd decided to camp out, Sehun didn't hesitate to agree. He would just have to keep the beast at bay.

Walking, instead of driving his vehicle this time, the wendigo entered the first line of trees with his usual hiking backpack shouldered behind him, full of food, drinks, medical supplies, and a few other items that he'd potentially need. The illuminating flames and the overwhelming scent of smoke easily pulled Sehun along his way as he stepped over twigs and rocks and underbrush. "Hyunjin?" He called out when he approached, eyes squinting a bit to try and see through the bright, flickering fire.

( open to everyone! uwu )

Keeping an eye on the chatroom because he knew there'd be a couple people worried, Felix kept walking down the path with a light smile on his face. This was the perfect time of the day to go on walks. The sun was still in the sky, however it wouldn't take long for it to begin to set - and walking back through the woods with the sunset up above was always so breath-taking. It was his favorite part of going on a late hike. There has been a few times where he ran into other people who had the same idea as him; groups of friends finding a nice camping space, a young couple on a date night, or even another hiker that preferred the same routine as he did. Would there be anyone out there tonight? The angel actually hoped he would run into someone. Perhaps they'd like to join him on his little adventure.