Thread by @jihyestan

fantasy au with naga!yjh and mage!kdj (w mentions of abuse)

they meet as kids, when kdj hides in the outskirts of the forest from his father and stumbles upon yjh. at first he thinks yjh is also hiding, or maybe bravely exploring the forest, then yjh moves and kdj sees his tail

kdj: what is THAT
yjh: my tail
kdj: why do u have a tail??
yjh: bc im a naga?
kdj:
kdj: oh okay. makes sense

yjh is a little annoyed, but kdj says he hasnt read abt nagas before so he couldnt have known, AND says yjh's tail is pretty so. yjh is happy.

however, he's also injured which is why he didnt leave the moment he noticed kdj nearby.

theres a large gash running from below his ribs to the middle of his tail. once kdj moves around the bush yjh is behind, he sees the blood covering yjh and panics.

he runs to the well to get some water in a small pail, sneaks back into his house for a spare shirt, then goes back to yjh to clean him up.

yjh tries to tell him it's fine and he'll heal in a matter of days but won't be stopped and quickly cleans him off

once he sees how bad the cut is, kdj takes off again and grabs the bandages, salves, and half-empty healing potion he's hidden under the floorboards in his room.

yjh is wary abt letting kdj treat him, but doesnt try to stop him. and kdj is actually... not bad at this.

he deals w the worst areas of the cut, putting on the salves and wrapping the bandages around it, tight but not too tight. when yjh comments on his skill, kdj shrugs and says, "im used to treating myself after my dad hits me. im not good, but i can make things a little better."

yjh looks murderous when he hears abt kdj's father. kdj is touched that he cares, but assures him that it's fine, he doesnt get hit much as long as he stays out of the way, he's handling it. his mother does what she can to keep him safe and fed too, so.

that doesnt make yjh feel any less angry on kdj's behalf, but he doesnt push it. kdj, an unexpected kindness who patched yjh up and wasnt scared of his tail or his claws, is being hurt.

it's not abt paying kdj back. it's his instincts as a naga telling him to protect kdj.

but he's just an injured naga child with no family, who got hurt traveling to this forest and mountain in search of territory he can claim as his own.

kdj stays for hours, asking yjh questions abt nagas and his life. yjh doesnt speak too much, giving short answers, but kdj doesnt mind, happy to spend time with someone who isnt going to hurt him (unlike his father or the other kids in town)

eventually, kdj has to leave, and he instructs yjh to drink some of the healing potion before he sleeps.

then kdj sneaks back into his house, makes sure his father is passed out, then eats a quiet dinner with his mother.

over the next few months, it becomes routine for kdj to go into the forest and spend hours with yjh. yjh heals quickly, as he said he would, and all that's left is a fading scar. he can move around again and goes around the forest when kdj isnt there looking for a place to

build a home. no other creature has claimed the forest as their territory, so yjh doesnt have to fight for it.

kdj goes along w yjh, but they mostly stay near the outskirts near town so kdj can quickly return home.

kdj sometimes arrives with bruises and cuts barely tended too and yjh carried kdj around the forest in search of herbs that can lessen pain, stop bleeding, etc.

each time that happens, yjh feels more and more protective of kdj and doesnt want him to leave.

each time he says so, kdj laughs and promises to always return to him, no matter what. yjh starts getting more clingy, always wrapping his tail around kdj when theyre together and enjoys the feeling of kdj stroking his scales.

and then one night kdj goes tearing thru the forest, calling for yjh. yjh wakes up immediately and follows his voice until he finds kdj, panting for breath inbetween sobs, clinging to a tree so he doesnt collapse onto the ground.

"what's wrong?" he asks, alarmed. yjh checks the forest around them, looking for danger but finds none. he grabs kdj's hand and makes him sit down, then wraps is tail around kdj's waist, keeping a firm hold on him.

kdj sobs again, then manages to say, "i have to leave."

"what?"

"my father, he wouldnt stop hitting me, he had a knife but he dropped it and- and-" kdj gasps, sobs, then says, "i took the knife and mom tried to take it from me and father tripped and fell onto it and hes dead!"

yjh can barely comprehend what he's hearing.

kdj's father is dead? good, now he cant hurt kdj. but now kdj has to leave?

"mom said we had to leave or people will hurt us for making him die. i had to tell you before we left."

yjh feels his heart break. he's barely had half a year with kdj and he's already losing him.

"i'll come back, i'll do my best to come back someday," kdj promises and yjh knows that all he can do is believe that kdj will return.

he takes one of kdj's hands, lifts it up so the wrist is in front of his mouth. "we'll be connected if i mark you. let me bite you?"

kdj says yes. presses his wrist against yjh's mouth and watches as the fangs drop from his gums and then yjh bites. hard.

he cant help but cry out, arm jerking trying to get away from the sudden pain but yjh doesnt let go. digs his teeth in deeper.

kdj feels something in his chest, a pulse, and then the pain stops. yjh pulls his mouth away and beneath the blood id an already healed scar, bite marks that circle his wrist.

"come back," yjh says. kdj wipes the last of the tears out of his eyes and hugs yjh tight.

and then he leaves.

a few years later, on the other side of the kingdom where no one knows his past or his and his mother's shared crime, kdj absentmindedly reads a sentence in a book abt magic that makes a gust of wind sweep through his room.

kdj does a few more tests, figures out that he has magic, and goes to a school in order to train.

turns out he's really, really good with magic. all the basics of the elements AND sigils and runes. written magic is where he excels and quickly becomes known for making his own

runic figures and sigil combinations to create incredibly strong spells. some people try to approach him bc of this, trying to make use of his talent and power by have a rship with him, but they all back off as soon as they see his wrist.

hsy, a half-dragon witch and necromany prodigy watches another student hit on an oblivious kdj, then quickly leave then kdj shows off the scars by tugging at the collar of his shirt nervously.

she snorts as the student runs off and kdj looks after them, frowning.

kdj: why are so many ppl coming up to me then leaving? why is everyone here so weird
hsy: can u blame them for being embarrassed? they tried to flirt w you when youve been marked.
kdj: huh? what mark?
hsy, squinting at him: are u fucking with me.
kdj: no???
hsy: ur wrist idiot

kdj: what abt it
hsy: ?????
hsy: thats a mark!!

kdj suddenly remembers yjh also calling it a mark, but he was very stressed out that night so who can blame him for forgetting.

kdj: so whats special abt a mark
hsy: what. how do u not know. its a mating mark!! ure chosen as someones mate!!
kdj: WHAT

hsy leaves bc she cant stand talking to him anymore. kdj goes to the library and frantically reads all he can on mating marks.

a mark is a sign of mating, given when officially courting to let others know that someone is taken. solidified by physical bonding (aka sex)

is needed in order to create a soulbound, found between mates who've carried the mark for years and both choose to solidify the bond.

mating marks connect two people, regardless of species, has certain side effects that bring them together, like feeling their partners emotions

and kdj thinks 'oh so THATS why ive had sudden bouts of sadness/lonlieness. bc yjh was sad/lonely.' then he reads that if one person doesnt want the mark, they can remove it via magic.

kdj does NOT want that, now that he knows what it is. he layers on rune circles to keep it

from ever being removes from him.

he goes back to his dorm room and decides to test the mating bond he and yjh have, now that he knows what it is. concentrating, kdj pressing his fingers onto the scars coats his wrist in a thin layer of ice.

the cold makes him wince, then a minute later kdj feels a burst of want, wrapping around him like a hug. he cant help but laugh in delight, then shakes the ice off and gathers up his joy to share with yjh.

it gets easier after that. everyday theyre sending each other vague feelings, like 'want', 'longing', 'bored', etc. each feeling he receives makes kdj smile and fondly rub the mark, at which hsy rolls her eyes at him.

kdj thinks she should worry abt her own rship problems first

(she refuses to acknowledge her Feelings, as she says to kdj, but laughing at his is fine)

what wasnt mentioned in any of the books is how the bond can change over time with the feelings of each person. this is how ppl might lose/get rid of their mark or make their bond stronger

kdj wakes up one day from a dream abt yjh thats already fading away, forgotten when he hears a low voice in his head, saying 'hungry'.

he's in shock for a second, then realizes what happened and starts laughing.

he feels yjh's embarrassment for a moment before it's hidden away, and his voice comes again: 'stop laughing.'

'missed your voice,' kdj sends back and the force of yjh's flustered delight makes his own cheeks turn red. yjh then closes his side of the bond to recover.

after that, they get used to the changed bond and send feeling with short messages, usually 'miss you', 'come back', etc.

once, kdj is in the middle of working on a new runic circle when he feels like he's surrounded by something soft and warm. yjh's voice says 'comfy'

and kdj smiles like a fool for the next two hours.

(yeah it's yjh's nest, which he's in the middle of building so he's ready for kdj whenever he comes back)

it's not always great though. every so often, kdj will feel a sudden pain and yjh's anger, then nothing for a few hours where he sends worry and fear to yjh, waiting for an answer. yjh always sends back reassurance later, but that doesnt really make it better.

the few nagas who also attend the school tell him yjh is probably defending his territory or fighting monsters on request since he's alone and has no one else to help him.

kdj then spends two months making a long distance protection charm, which he attaches to yjh

thats an insane feat of magic which showcases his talent in sigils and runes, and ppl want him even more. some try to convince him to have multiple mates (kdj gives them nightmares), others try to remove his mark (kdj hides them in shadow and just stabs them as a warning)

he lasts another year at the school before he cant wait anymore and forces the school to let him graduate a few years early, then takes off back to yjh, going across the entire kingdom then searching for him with a compass sigil

( and then we return here sjsks thanks for reading this excuse make kdj and yjh Feel Things. i will probably write more in this au bc i refuse to be stopped lol)

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