Chapter Text
Han Jisung could’ve been normal. He could’ve stayed away from witchcraft and magick altogether. But something about it drew him in. It fit him somehow, in a way he'd never fit in to anything before.
So he started learning whatever was in the limited resources he could find, most books on magick were outlawed, too dangerous for the general public and those with evil intentions to have access to. But still, there was a small community of magick practitioners, most in covens, but some who worked alone, which meant there was enough material for him to learn from to join them eventually.
One day, he decided to practice on the coast. Overcast weather meant a clear beach with no distractions. And he needed to get out anyway, he’d been spending too long cooped up inside his apartment in the city and figured he should get some fresh air. So he ended up at the beach. Cold and gray but it was outside, so it worked. It was awkward, and the optics were probably strange to anyone who might pass by. A young man in his twenties sitting on a gray beach by himself hunched over a stack of musty old library books, with a couple from his personal collection. If he were anyone else, he might've been spending the day watching shows or hanging out with a plethora of friends. But he was just Jisung, the weird guy with a metric fuck ton of anxiety, whose special interest just so happened to be witchcraft.
Determined to do what he came outside for in the first place, he referred to the first book from his stack and started murmuring a spell, drawing lines in the sand as he spoke, in an attempt to invoke the supernatural. The wind whipped faster, the sea spraying across his face as he recited the spell faster, louder, clearer, stronger until… nothing. The spell hadn’t worked. He'd studied theory for a couple of months now and his first spell didn't work. Cursing under his breath, he looked over the spell in his book again. It was a simple light spell, why didn’t it work? The book has said it was many witches' first spell. It was supposed to be so easy that eventually he could cast it non-verbally.
Ah. So that’s what it was. There was an extra line on his sand work and he had forgotten an entire word in his spell. So he tried again, this time double checking that his lines were precise and that he said every word correctly. The wind whipped like it did the first time, and he could taste the salty ocean spray as he chanted, this time more confident in his line work and pronunciation. He continued chanting until his ritual circle started glowing, curving upwards from the sand until it formed a floating ball of light. It worked. All that time spent studying magick theory without practice had not been in vain. His first actual spell worked.
“YES!” He shouted into the distance, cheering for himself. “My first spell…” Much more confident now after getting one right, he tried a couple more basic spells from his pile of tomes. There were still a couple mistakes here and there, no one was perfect their first try, but soon he was making ice blocks a foot tall and fire so hot it turned the sand below to glass. In all the time he'd been practicing the sun had started to set, the cloudy gray becoming darker and taking on a warm undertone.
Little did he know, the entire time a pair of eyes had tracked his movements, curious and entertained by the man. After seeing the sand turn to glass, the figure stepped out from the shadows, walking towards Jisung.
“Hi-“
“AAH!” Jisung jumped, startled by the man who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. “You scared me! Can’t a man practice on a secluded beach in peace?!”
“Sorry! Didn’t mean to.” The man spoke in an accented voice. “I just noticed you practicing and I think you’ve got real promise. The name’s Wolf.”
Jisung shook Wolf’s outstretched gloved hand, still a bit shaken and very much confused, giving his name in response. “Han Jisung, and thanks. What are you doing out here?”
“Oh you know, taking a walk, picking up strays, not much.” He smiled. The man, Wolf, was intimidating at first glance. Dressed in all black, he was muscular, with a glare that could cut right through you. Undeniably attractive, but scary. But all that softened with his bright smile, dimples showing on his cheeks. “Anyway, you seem like you’re practicing on your own… If you don’t have a coven or anything, you’re welcome to join mine.” He handed Jisung a card with nothing but a compass on it. “Just tap the compass and say my name, I’ll be there whenever. Think about it, ok? I’ll be waiting~” Wolf said, vanishing into shadows.
Jisung was speechless. A coven, a real coven wanted him. Was he even good enough for a coven? He’d barely started doing spells today! How did they even find him? Would they find out about how much of a novice he was? Was he even allowed to be in a coven with such little spell casting experience under his belt? If he talked to Wolf again, would he say 'Oh whoops nevermind, didn't realize I found an absolute noob, I'll take that card back'? Or something like it? It was too much, all at once. His biggest dream was coming true and creating new nightmares every second. His heartbeat was too fast. His breathing too shallow. All of just because he was stupidly overthinking a five minute interaction.
He was spiraling, that's what his therapist called it. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths until his heartbeat and breathing returned to normal. It would be fine. Wolf never gave him a time limit and it was just an offer. Not anything he needed to worry about now. What he probably should be worrying about now is eating dinner and figuring out how he was getting back home. Taking another breath, he packed up his things and started heading home, thinking about the big decision he had to make.
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Jisung's life wasn't anything of major interest. Maybe that's why he liked magick so much. He had a boring job, no friends, family he didn't talk to very often, and an okay apartment in the middle of the city. If he wasn't somehow immersed in learning more about witchcraft, he was either making music no one would ever end up hearing (he didn't know why he did it half the time, but he liked it and his therapist said that he should do things he likes for himself so he stuck with it) or watching an anime or documentary on tv. But witchcraft and magick had intrigue, and the ability to do things that seem impossible for most people. And it kept his interest. An entire other world (or worlds, who knew really?) with magick he could learn to communicate with and channel. If there happened to be like minded people who were as strange as Jisung was or at least as interested in the craft as he was, that was a bonus.
The idea of just getting so wrapped up in magick that it became his new world was always a fantasy of Jisung's, to be quite honest. Not that he ever said it out loud. But he always hoped. Hoped that someone would whisk him away to a more magick-favoring society, somewhere where he could finally be himself and in his true element.
Lying in his bed in pajamas, Jisung held the card Wolf gave him to the light, watching the compass symbol reflect it without metallic ink. A coven would be a dream. New friends, potential family and expert teachers rolled into one. But each coven was different, and if he were smarter, maybe he would've thought to ask Wolf more before he disappeared. Some covens were part-time, for lack of a better term, and their members practiced magick in their spare time while also having a normal job. Others were built on legacy and families with magick practicing bloodlines, who almost never brought in anyone whose pedigree wasn't up to standard. Seeing as Wolf offered him a chance after seeing him on the beach, he figured it wasn't that kind of coven. There were also those that were more immersive, think 'full-time coven', where members practiced magick all day and night, fighting any threats to the normal world behind the scenes instead of working a job.
Any kind of coven would work, honestly. Jisung just needed some level of magick in his life, now that he's had a taste. Technically, Wolf never elaborated on why to call him, so really, he could just call to ask him questions. Maybe he should call him tonight, he did say whenever. But he decided to not be impulsive and be a little courteous and call Wolf the next day instead. Just to clarify (definitely not to say yes please to whatever you can give me). If it so happened that he had to lose his normal life to join this coven, then that's what will happen.
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He mustered up his courage and decided to actually call Wolf at 1:43PM the next day. Prior to his decision, he had been grappling with anxieties and almost called his therapist to ask her if Wolf would hate him for interrupting his day but he was able to pull himself together enough. All he needed to do was touch the compass and say his name right? He moved to his living room, which was a little cleaner than the rest of his place and sat on the couch, placing the card on his coffee table. He touched the compass.
"Wolf?"
There was a slight rustling by the curtains as Wolf stepped out of the shadows. "That's my name, don't wear it out." He said with a cheeky smile and wink, walking over to Jisung as if he hadn't manifested out of thin air. "What can I do you for Jisung? Do you have an answer for me? Questions? I'm all ears."
Startled slightly by his sudden appearance, it took a second for Jisung to respond. "Uh, questions, mostly. Do you want to sit?" He gestured to the couch. "Oh wait! Can I get you anything? Are you actually here?"
Taking a seat, Wolf laughed a little. "Let's see... I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, yes I will have a seat, I am alright for now and yes, I am actually here."
Jisung proceeded to ask many questions to a Wolf who seemed very pleased by his interest. After about thirty minutes of pseudo interrogation, he finally asked the most important questions.
"What does joining the coven entail, exactly? Does the coven head know I've been invited?"
"Good questions! Well, you'd get mentorship by our members and learn all sorts of magick, obviously. I guess it'd kinda be like joining our family? We're very close, we all live together. In separate rooms of course, and there'd be one for you too! While you don't have to, you are more than welcome to come live with us. The coven makes more than enough on commissions alone so there's no need to have a 'normal' job. But if you wanted to keep a somewhat normal life that's okay too! It might be a little difficult but we could definitely find a way to manage. You are very gifted, so we'll do what we can if it means you'll join."
"And the coven head? I would hate to join and find out the boss didn't know I was invited."
"Ah, yes. Allow me to reintroduce myself. Hello, my name is Wolf, coven head of Haven. Nice to meet you."
Jisung was speechless. In all his months of theory studying, few coven names had popped up but one of them was Haven. Said to be one of the strongest covens out there, they were a small coven with only a warlock, a handful of witches, a handful of familiars and an elder fae god making up their members. They were legendary. And they wanted Jisung to join them.
"When can I start?"