Ripples

Kang Hyuna | 21 | The World

[archyuna-blog]

Clockwork

@arcmijoo​

For all the training there was always one area where Hyuna faltered. One could say it was due to the nature of her abilities that she often allowed her training in other things to lack. Complacency, hubris, even. Why bother learning how to wield a knife when she could shape the element of water at her whim? Why learn to shoot a gun when she could shoot water? It was partially because she didn’t think it necessary, but mostly out of her own uneasiness with harming others. Of course, from mission to mission a certain level of violence was needed, and part of the purpose of her team in the first place was destruction, but the scope of her abilities largely lay in disabling people.

At some point, she would need to learn. Not just learn, but actually be good at it. While as much as she wanted to only rely on her abilities, they were not suited for discreet operations most of the time, and stuck out abnormally simply because of what they were. And so, this is where Mijoo came in. There was none better to ask for help when it came to learning how to handle a weapon. She was, to put it simply, the best, something that Hyuna always made sure to point out any time she bothered the other for help.

Her own lack of ability was practically embarrassing and elementary at best, and trying to decide where best to start was always difficult to decide. Today it was target practice, or at least, being able to keep her composure enough to fire another shot and perhaps actually hit her target. She was a bit early for the appointed meet up time, mostly to try and prepare herself mentally. The weight of the object in her hand felt heavy and she slowly raised it. Target in sight, she took a deep breath, tip of her tongue darting out to lick her lips, and though her finger rested on the trigger, her eyes closed as she pressed it. The sound of the gun going off startled her, and the recoil almost made her drop it. There were so many things wrong with that one single action alone, but she figured that repetition would make it like clockwork.

But she was nowhere near that. With an exasperated sigh, she crumbled, crouched down, hugging her knees. “Does this ever get any easier?”

[avthakyeon-blog]

; pieces

[archyuna-blog]

archyojin:

“It was here,” Hyojin said, pushing the empty case for the laptop back toward Hyuna, “I just. Saw it. And I touched it and it could be fixed. It was slower than it should. I could tell so I..was fixing. I could leave it? O..or you can have it back?” She gestured to her little work station, precarious piles of components and salvage she clearly scrapped together from all over the compound. “I was going to make it work better,” she deflated after she said it. “I can put it back together.”

A ride from start to finish, Hyuna almost regretted saying anything at all., partially wondering if maybe she should have just kept going about her business instead, or perhaps pretended it wasn’t hers and kept her mouth shut. Regardless, she put on a reassuring smile and shook her head. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you, you can keep going” Her gaze traveled around the area, looking for a chair she could pull up, maybe just to watch. She did come all the way here to look for her laptop, and she’s found it at least.

Spotting one, she went to get it, pulling it up next to the table and making herself comfortable. “Might as well, right? If you can make it better.” She didn’t know front from back, so how something like this could be made ‘better’ she wasn’t too sure, and was fairly curious to see what the end result could be. “Do you mind if I watch, though?” Perhaps this was the perfect time to catch her in the process, just starting, with everything laid out to see. To Hyuna she just saw a jumble of parts, no comprehension whatsoever of what one meant to the other, or even if any of them did go together. She didn’t quite want to pick the other’s brain, no any explanation would just soar over her head, but was happy enough just to watch the process.

Her abilities were simple, at least in explanation. Manipulation of water. With just that a basic understanding could already be grasped, but Hyojin’s? Even with all the time they’ve spent at arc already, much of it was still a mystery to Hyuna. For what seemed like obvious reasons, they were hardly ever paired up for training or for missions.

“So um ... how do you even know where to start with this?”

[avthakyeon-blog]

; pieces

[archyuna-blog]

archyojin:

she didn’t think about the people passing by in their camouflage and lab coats, nor did she think of the owner of this laptop who’d be missing it very soon. they meant very little to her.

what meant the world was the pieces laid out in front of her. everything in a correct order and calling out to her to make better.

She blamed it on unfamiliarity, on not being used to it. But if she wasn’t used to it, why bother? Before arc, she had an old, barely working laptop enough to help her with her homework during high school, and it at least played videos that she could watch. When her powers emerged though, a slight mishap killed it for good. So she came to arc without one, and often felt like she didn’t need one. There was no time, between training and lessons, and the more training she herself scheduled in.

Recently, she’s found herself with free time. Actual free time. It was new, foreign, it had been a while since she found a moment to breath and occupy herself with something that wasn’t work. So used to being too tired to watch anything, or do anything other than sleep, she now found herself looking for things to fill the time between the next mission or lesson. So she bought a new laptop. There was no problem amusing herself with other things, it was simply a purchasing decision she made so she wouldn’t be stuck using her phone all the time.

And now she lost it.

In her rush elsewhere she had left it, somewhere on a stray desk or table within the compound. It was huge and it would take forever to find. Oddly, she was hardly concerned about someone stealing it. It was within the compound, after all, and there wasn’t anything sensitive on it (in fact, there was barely anything at all), but she was certain that the staff and even her fellow arcana would probably pay it no mind. And yet, because of that, it felt all the more harder to find. She had asked around and no one had really seen it. Not that her description of it was that good either. A laptop, black in colour, nothing else really of note. She could not speak of the model or any other specifics, not caring enough to know what they were. It worked, that was all that mattered to her.

It took her a moment when she initially walked by, thinking nothing of the pieces she saw laid out in front of Hyojin. It wasn’t an unusual sight, nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, Hyuna had initially only stopped and back tracked so she could ask the other if she had seen her laptop. As she approached her work space though, the realization that the laptop in front of the other might actually be hers dawned on her.

“Oh, so that’s where it was.” Seeing as she had just blurted that out she said a quick apology and a rushed greeting to the other. “Hey, sorry, I’ve been looking for it but it looks like you’re a little ... busy, with it” she laughs, stiffly, hand rubbing the back of her neck. “Go ahead, I don’t mind but what are you doing?” Curious, to say the least, she was well aware of what the other was capable of, and yet not. She’s never actually watched Hyojin work and it’d be a lie if she said she didn’t want to stick around and watch for a little.

[amarylliad]

i am scared. time is running out for me to be wise for my age, for me to stun the world with my words because they come from a young, an innocent, an inexperienced brain. i am scared that soon i won’t have youth to rely on. i will lose my excuse. and i am scared that that’s all i am; words propped up by the promise of the wisdom of youth.

a.c (via lxcuna)

[archyuna-blog]

empty pot

@arcnora

A quieter day with little to do except amuse herself. So here she was, sitting in the cafeteria, sketchpad laid on the table in front of her, pencil in one hand and a fork in the other. Photos of the nearby landscape were scattered on the table, between her plate and her pencils as her teeth gnawed on the prongs of the fork as her other hand darted across the page, replicating the landscape in the photos.

A simple hobby, a way to pass the time until the next training session, the next mission, or until a friend wanted to go do something. At one point in her life she thought to pursue her talent as more than a hobby, even going through her high school years at an art school to refine her technique. It was clear though, even from the start of high school, that she’d be on her own in forging that path. If dreams were real, maybe she would have been an established artist, or at least in school to become one. As the picture formed on the page in front of her, she knows that even without the power,s even without arc, that still wouldn’t be possible. That she had the time to do this at all now felt like a luxury already.

Taking a moment to admire her work so far she feels that familiar dread, raising hairs on the back of her neck. It’s a familiar, and she wishes it wasn’t. For every bit of unease it gives her, she finds herself filling with irritation, brow furrowing, jaw clenching. Tongue clicks in annoyance as her head bows, focusing intently on the drawing in front of her, trying to get some of the finer details worked out as she continues to try to ignore the presence nearby.

Not this again. She was tired, irritated, quietly wishing the other would just leave her alone. She put in her time, did what she could. She was tired of giving, giving, giving, so she finally gave up. Hyuna thought herself a patient person, kind, always went out of her way to help the other arcana feel a bit more at home. And then there were those who took advantage of it. Like Nora.

There was only one person who had this effect, largely unintentional, but Hyuna willingly subjected herself to it enough that it could almost be brushed off. Almost. She wasn’t sure anymore if the unease was from the other’s aura or persona. Either way, the feeling wasn’t dissipating and she wondered what she would ask of her now. It was never enough for Nora. She always wanted to take more, and Hyuna had nothing left to give her.

“What do you want?”

[archyuna-blog]

off the deep end

[archyuna-blog]

arcyeonghun:

Sipping envy through a narrow stirring straw that never seemed to grow, he watched the figure he envied emerge from beneath the crest while crystal droplets blessed over her head and clung like dew on her hair. The wistful movement of her vessel moving through the tensioned substance provoked a certain amount of jealousy that rumbled beneath his ribs. The longing never sufficed, but he just never seemed to be able to enter her labyrinth. Even in such a controlled environment such as the pool. As she approached him, he felt the awkward need to sit up. Shoulders rolled back, he cleared his throat as a smile cracked over his lips.

”…Haha yeah? People don’t swim in jeans?”

She laughs because it’s true, but also laughs because it’s something she never always followed. Mishaps, misjudgment, sometimes just regular old fun lead to soaked clothes more often than it should, but hardly more than she ever wanted. It was a thing that happened, something that couldn’t be helped given the nature of her element.

“It’s not practical to swim in jeans”

She laughs again as she lowers herself back into the water, hanging onto the edge as her knees come up and she pushes off, gliding back as her fingertips graze the surface. Her eyes close as she feels the tiny little ripples underneath her hands, the slight push against her back that kept for from sinking under the surface.

“Hmm wet jeans are kind of hard to get out of though” her hands clasp above her midsection, fingers drumming. Her pose is unusually relaxed, mostly in part to her resting on the surface rather than trying to float, barely even noticeable except for the fact that she’s a bit higher on the surface than she should be. “You could take them off, I won’t judge.” As she sits up, it’s far more evident, legs outstretched in front of her, one ankle over the other as she leans back on her hands, “or look.”

It’s partially practice, but mostly playing as she lets the surface give out under her arms and then her legs, and she’s submerged yet again. She’s not trying to show off, but experimenting, learning, trying to get a feel for the finer points of control. Offensively, there often wasn’t a need for such fine details so long as she had enough material to work with, it was no different than how waves crashed against the shore. But she didn’t want to be stuck with just brute force techniques, she wanted to be able to achieve the same pull of an undertow or a current, something more subtle and unexpected.

She had something of a grasp for it, evidenced by her lack of actual swimming to move herself from the middle of the pool back to the edge, though her arms had to catch herself against the wall, pulling herself out completely to sit near the other. Her brow is creased as she looks at him, hands pulling her hair to one side as she wrings out some of the moisture and droplets slip off her skin in a small pool around her. “I mean, you kind of look like you want to jump in. I promise I won’t use my powers if you want to use the pool” is what she says, but the pool of water that was forming around her is moving, seemingly on its own, back over the edge to join the larger body.

“Or ... I can go, if that would be a bit more reassuring”

[archyuna-blog]

deep breaths

[archyuna-blog]

arctaehwa:

they walk for a while in silence. taehwa doesn’t bother making small talk, focused on using what’s remaining of his energy in scanning for bodies in hiding that he’ll have to defend himself from. with each step, he breaks out in cold sweats and he first blames it on fatigue- there’s just no other explanation for this. taehwa suddenly turns, hands still shoved into his pockets so hyuna won’t see them shaking. “we need to take a break,” he exhales sharply, avoiding meeting her eyes because he’s not sure if he can pretend that he’s okay while she looks at him. “i need time to recharge,” it’s a good excuse, a believable one. they’ve had short breaks in their previous missions. “just give me a few minutes.”

he crouches down, resting his arms on his knees as he bows his head. his chest feels so tight to the point that his heart feels like it’s being crushed under his bones. taehwa forces down a scream, glaring down at the ground instead as he tries to make sense of what’s happening to him. 

She follows in silence behind him. Partially because mindless chatter seemed useless, mostly because she had nothing to say, and largely because she worried how her voice would quiver as she spoke. Her gaze is mostly focused on his footsteps, sometimes traveling upwards to rest on the spot between his shoulder blades. tense and tired, she notes that his steps possess far more grace than hers ever could, feeling a little envious and a little curious.

It’s not distracting her from the thoughts of needing to keep up though, of not being able to blink because now she’s wondered if the figure she’s been following is only an illusion. In those stretches of silence, she’s come to wonder if everything even up until now is just a figment of her imagination, a hallucination made from her desperation of not wanting to be alone. Maybe this was all a trick of her mind, a way to quell the fear of having been abandoned, forgotten within these walls. Maybe this was a trap in disguise wearing a face of familiarity to let her guard down.

Brows furrowed, mind heavy with negativity, she startles when he turns to her, gaze focused elsewhere. She’s embarrassed, to say the least, that she would even think that he might just be leading her to a trap and she wants to protest, tell him they should keep going, but as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, she gives a nod of agreement. He’s right, maybe they both just need a moment, collect themselves, rest a little. They’re just tired, they’ve been through a lot. This will pass.

But she’s fidgeting, weight shifting from one foot to the other, paranoia setting in. She glances at him every now and then, wondering, waiting. Her previous thoughts are starting to creep back in and she questions if this is real, if he’s real. Curiosity gets the better part of her and her hand is moving, but stops inches away from his hair. Fear is what grips her and she realizes she doesn’t actually want to know the answer. If it's a trick of her own mind she wants to keep believing it so she doesn’t have to keep going with the knowledge that she’s completely on her own. But that thought hardly settles her either and so her hands are quivering as she’s reaching again, contact finally made in the smallest little tap of her finger on his shoulder.

The deed is done, and she’s got her answer. She’s relieved, but is also fighting the urge to run away, practically throwing herself at the wall to cover her face. She really can’t look at him now. It should have been obvious, why did she have to check? Surely it could be blamed on the strange atmosphere here, there was no other explanation.

“Sorry I ...” She doesn’t even know how to explain herself right now, “you know how before that spider, and the little girl, I guess I just thought,” she just feels ridiculous the more she talks. Surely this would be more laughable if it were any other situation but right now wasn’t the time, and that’s what made her groan. “This place’s got me all out of sorts. For a moment I just thought you weren’t real.” She sighs, rubbing the back of her head, “forget I said anything”

[arcrowoon]

closer

[archyuna-blog]

arcrowoon:

No one had told him much of anything, really; just that it would be fun to go on a day like today, regardless if it was with a friend or alone. A few wandering steps forward is all it takes for his toes to reunite with the water, but he continues to tread until the tide wraps around his ankles when it stretches out. “Did you come here to swim?” He looks back to her, taking a brief glance down at the dress she’s wearing, unsure if she’s even able to go in the water in that kind of clothing. “Or did you come here to practice?”

A knowing smile is on her lips when he replies. It’s understandable. When you think about it, there were quite a few of them, and even with sharing some lessons together, or being paired up for training, it wasn’t necessarily all the time. Even those that she was familiar with she only knew either because they talked often enough, or trained together quite a bit.

Eyebrows raise as she hears what he says. So many questions pop up in her head, and she’s trying not to burst out laughing. For starters, it’d be a little mean, especially since his words appeared to be every bit sincere. Never been to the beach? Didn’t think to swim? Well, maybe the second was understandable, some people did just come here to enjoy the weather and the gentle rolling of the waves. And, now that she thought about it, it wasn’t like she grew up on the beach either. Really, it wasn’t until she came here that she could even go regularly. So, maybe it wasn’t that unusual. Still, she was a little surprised by the word choice, and really that’s what brought the smallest giggle out of her.

Her gaze follows his as she looks down at her dress and then back at him. “Oh! I have a swimsuit on underneath. I thought I would practice today but ...” her eyes scan the beach, the various groups dotted here and there, “too many people. Suppose I could go for a swim but, sometimes things just ... happen, without thinking.” Too in her element, you could say. It was funny how while she couldn’t make the waves move in different directions, it was effortless to follow the flow, make it bigger, pull more in as they retreated.

“I’m guessing you don’t know how to swim, huh? Otherwise I’d ask if you want to jump in, but the ocean is way too unforgiving if you’re just learning,” she laughs, part of her statement coming from one unfortunate experience when she was young. “Don’t really leave the compound much?” A curious question, naturally. It wasn’t unusual to see one of their own within the city, something that happened often enough, but clearly from the start of the conversation that was rare and far between for the two of them.

Well, now was as good a time as any to start.

[archyuna-blog]

everything that could

[archyuna-blog]

arcjintae:

it’s hard to look up, let alone meet her gaze. it’s coming to terms with yourself that failure is something to accept and learn from. yes, he acknowledges the failure and embraces that this isn’t reality and he’s still fast asleep. she should go away and not show her face around him.

“and doing what you just did will make it harder to recover,” he raises a brow, gestures to her glass, “which you should be doing, y’know.”

This was pointless. The words exchanged, the conversation they were having. They spoke without speaking to each other, eyes focused on anything but the other’s face. She looks at him, briefly, it’s only a second before her eyes are rolling and she scoffs. “It’s not like that’s hard to do” it’s almost a hiss, but it stings, hurts her pride. If it’s so easy then why did things fall through like that?

“Sorry ...” the apology comes out meek, quiet, gaze turned towards the ground. She’s not sure if it’s for the words she had spat out or for failing him. Eyes wander to the cuts on his skin, the tips of her fingers hovering just slightly above but not touching. Her own ache, and she wonders how much more his hurt. It probably always hurts. She was lucky, using her abilities didn’t cost her that sort of pain, all the more reason why she should have done better.

With a sigh, she finally looks at him, meets him eye to eye, arms crossed as she fixes him with a stern glare. “Look, I know you want to get better but you have to-” she groans, “get better first.” Her hand gestures towards his wounds, “Don’t tell me to rest when you won’t either.” If she could force him to get his wounds dressed, she would. If she had the energy to augment enough water, whisk him away down those halls, she would. But she couldn’t, only glare at him in the vain hope that it would do something.

It would make her feel better, at least a little, like she did something right for once. In everything that had gone wrong, at least she was capable of something.

“If you’re going to keep training at least, I don’t know, maybe go find that girl, the-the healing one. There’s no sense in going on like this unless,” her hands are starting to work her bandages, loosening them, unraveling them and she’s scrambling to her feet, “unless you let me join you too” and she’s serious. She means it. She barely has the energy to muster it but she’s calling back the droplets of water, and she got it above her palm, ready and poised for her command.

“I’ll spar with you if that’s the case” She’s trying to hold firm, like she can do this. Her hands are still quivering and her vision is blurry. She’s more upset than anything else, and her control wavers. If he was here, working himself to the bone, what did that make her? What was the point in laying in bed, moping. She didn’t want to be the only one, so if that meant hauling her aching body up and forcing it through motions it wasn’t ready to make, then so be it. If he can do it, there’s no reason why she shouldn’t.

[imnayeons]

long time no see ❤❤❤

[arcrowoon]

closer

[archyuna-blog]

arcrowoon:

Amongst groups of what appear to be family and friends he’s alone, but he doesn’t feel sad. Wonil had told him people go to places like this alone all the time. Looking around unveils a few others that seem to have made the same decision, one having a face that seems somewhat familiar, though he doesn’t know for sure. It’s also uncertain if it’s okay to disrupt someone while they’re keeping to themselves like she is, but a moment of debate leads to him treading back to the water’s edge to where she sits, bowing once with a hesitant, “Hello,” before settling down beside her.

“Sorry for bothering you, but you look really familiar. Are you from ‘there’?” He clasps his palms together and lowers his head. “Again, sorry if this is strange. I’ll leave if you want me to.”

There was nothing like the gentle rolling of the waves. She loved watching them, never tired of it. Sometimes, mostly on quieter days, she liked to sit here, see if she could fight them. As the water retreated, she tried, with the scrunch of her brow and a deep look of concentration to see if she could make it stay. It never worked, and she had the feeling it never would, she was well aware of her limitations, but she liked to try anyways.

Today was not one of those days though. It was a slightly busier day, no surprise with the beautiful weather, but it was still nice to just sit and enjoy the atmosphere. Besides, it didn’t hurt to take a break from training and today could be one of those days. Still, as she watched the waves come and go it was sorely tempting to throw herself in with them, whether it meant dipping her head under the water and let herself get carried by the flow or to feel its surface under her soles, she felt terribly out of place sitting on the shore, sand beneath her feet instead of water.

Not being able to stand it for much longer, she’s ready to stand, to pull the loose dress she wore over her head and just jump in. But before she is even to her feet, before she’s even left her sitting position, someone else approaches her. It takes a few moments for the face to register. She knows him, and she scratches her brain, trying to jog her memory of the name. She’s sure she knows him. Yes, she’s seen him, more than enough times at arc, but the name ...

“Rowoon, right?” It finally comes out and she’s got the biggest smile on her face. She scrambles to her feet to greet him properly, rocking a little bit between her heels and the ball of her foot, feeling the sand shift and move underneath. “Hyuna! I think ... we might have trained together a couple times, haven’t we? You do the ...” her hands are outstretched in front of her, palms vertical, as if against a flat surface. It’s a crude imitation of what she thinks are forcefields, but it’s better than saying it aloud with too many to hear around. “I have, y’know,” she nods her head towards the water, same reason, same tiny sort of subtly that she could muster.

“It’s nice having a place like this within reach of the compound but,” her gaze travels to his shoes, clearly not suited for sandy beaches, chuckling a little to herself, “you probably didn’t come here to swim, did you?”

[archyuna-blog]

everything that could

@arcjintae

Ripples on the surface of the water gave away the unsteady hands that held the glass. Scared? Still. She blamed the quivering on her injuries. Her body ached, bruises blooming on her skin. Nothing life threatening or too serious, but she needed some time to heal, physically and mentally. She was still trying to process what happened, but a part of her didn’t want to, anything to not relive the mistakes she made. Yet, despite how much she tried to put it from her mind, every move of her limbs or attempted smile only reminded her.

They were still new to this, mistakes were to be expected, right? It’s not like she was an utter failure, except she was. It could have gone better, and it didn’t. It also could have gone a lot worse, and that’s what terrified her. She was comfortable here, it was home, it was all she had. She didn’t have to be well-acquainted with every single arcana here for them to matter. She knew their faces, become accustomed to the muttered hellos or nods of acknowledgment in the halls. They were familiar faces, and even if she was at odds with some, the prospect of not seeing them felt so much worse. She couldn’t look anyone in the eye though. It was embarrassing to say the least, and downright humiliating to be one of the ones who failed their mission. And she had the injuries to show for it.

It won’t happen again.

She already knew that failure meant extra training, and she was fine with that. Even if there wasn’t, she’d put herself through it anyways. This can’t happen again, she won’t let it happen again. She refused to be a burden on anyone, but she also knew that she still needed time to heal. As her feet took her to the training rooms she could hear the familiar voice inside. Not at all surprised to find him there, but certainly concerned. She opens the door, sighing a little to herself, ignoring the quivering in her hand as she raises her glass to drink from it.

The cool liquid stings a little against the sides of her lips, a sensation she hasn’t quite gotten the hang of, and her skin itches underneath the bandages. Still, she’s standing, and she waits for a few silent minutes. There is so little to say, and yet so much. They both knew what happened, and they were both painfully aware of what went wrong. It’s hard to look at him. If she wanted to see her mistakes laid bare before her, all she needed to see was this.

Her knees start to ache so she finds a spot in the corner to sit down, still sipping quietly at her water. As the silence ticks by, she’s at the end of her patience, and throws the liquid from her glass. It only takes moments for her to add to it’s volume, and a small flick of her wrist has it weakly shooting across the room, nothing more than a gentle splash against Jintae’s skin. It’s meant to be an annoyance, something to interrupt his training. And yet, while she has his attention, she’s hesitant to speak. Her gaze is focused on the floor, she can’t look him in the way, but she finally speaks, in a small voice.

“You should probably rest a little ...”

[archyuna-blog]

off the deep end

@arcyeonghun

Calm. Still. She loved the gentle lapping waves of the ocean, but she loved the serenity of the facility’s pool just as much. At first it was probably one of the best places to train, but since coming here it’d also been a place of relaxation for her. And today it was empty. Perfect. Not that she didn’t mind if others used it, it wasn’t hers, it’s just most times she didn’t just swim here. It seemed only natural for her to have an affinity for water, and being in it, considering the nature of her abilities.

She stood on the edge of the pool, goosebumps forming on her skin, hair loose, before taking one step out onto the surface of the water. One step was followed by another, and then another, and more until she stood in the very center of the pool. Her gaze traveled down, staring at the bottom of the pool, wiggling her toes a little as she felt the surface underneath her soles. Even at its calmest, the water’s surface always looked flimsy, paper thin, like it would never hold a person’s weight and really, it technically couldn’t. At least, not like this. She still remembered when she was first learning, how unsteady the surface felt and how careful she was with each step. Now, she could dash across its surface without a care, only needing the littlest bit of thought to keep her afloat like this. With that same small thought, she lets her eyes close, takes a deep breath, and lets herself fall through the surface.

Her head is only underwater for a few mere seconds before the buoyancy of the water has her floating back up to the surface. She lets herself take another breath before she goes back under. She liked to think that feeling the water move around her as she swam helped her better understand how best to use it above the surface, and she loved feeling the slight tugs and pulls of her limbs as it fought against her. Whether it was the pull of the waves or a still body attempting to stay at rest, she learned to love the movements even as they fought against her.

She could spend hours here, just swimming, feeling the water, letting it surround her, and she wasn’t sure just how long she had been here already when she noticed someone else. There, hanging lazily at the side, one limb dipped into the water. She raised a brow, and it brought a small chuckle as she swam over, climbing up on the edge, resting on her elbows, looking curiously at the other. Yeonghun, she recalled. There were only a handful of lessons and training sessions they had together, enough to know who he was, but they rarely met outside of those.

“You don’t look dressed for swimming”

[archyuna-blog]

keep it cool

@arcjaehwa

It could be worse.

Hyuna just keeps telling herself that.

It’s not like this is new to her. She was used to Jaehwa, knew how he ticked, knew the best way to put him out. That was the sort of relationship they had. She was the water that quenched his fire. In a way, maybe this worked out perfectly. After all, who else was best suited to making sure he didn’t accidentally overdo it and get extracted prematurely from the labyrinth?

It wasn’t planned. Well, technically, nothing was at this point, but their gazes met when the signal to enter soon was given. Her brow raised, a small tilt of her head with an unspoken question. It’s replied with a nod and as the time for them to enter draws on, she’s shouldering her bag and heading in, falling in to step with Jaehwa.

In hindsight, nothing about this combination was smart. Their abilities left them well equipped, almost too much and that was where the challenge lay. So far, at least, they had only come across traps, not terribly difficult to dodge or work around. Nothing they hadn’t already been training for. A little winded, but still in one piece and no wounds to worry about. Conversation had been simple, short, little things like which way to go next or watch out for that ___. Filtering between them was mindless banter, that you’d think they were just out for a casual stroll. All was fine, great even, but that was bound to run out eventually, and it did when Hyuna found herself blindsided with a blow to the side of her face. She doesn’t react fast enough, only blocks enough of it to not be seriously injured, but she’s on the ground and barely has enough time to roll and dodge the next blow.

She practically walked into it. It’s enough though. While a bit rattled and thrown off, the movement jostles her pack and a bottle rolls out. It’s mere moments before the cap is popping off and the contents of the bottle double, triple, quadruple before she flicks her wrist and it moves, shoving her attacker into the wall with enough force to knock them out.

 But she can feel the heat in the air, but rather than using the water she has at her disposal, she’s willing it back into the bottle it belongs, fixing a stern glare at Jaehwa. “Okay, so I should have seen that coming, but save it.” Once her things are situated her hand is on his arm, a small, but reassuring smile on her lips. “I’ll be more careful next time”

[archyuna-blog]

after you

[archyuna-blog]

arcsungwoo:

instead he lifted his head, a bright glow singeing the corner of his eye sight and leaving blind spots fading as he recognised hyuna’s voice. “hey,” greeted with the utmost casualness in such a place; as if they had crossed paths in the middle of the night in the facility and there was nothing more too it than that. until the cry echoes out again, looking in the direction and cringing when she suggests they go check it out. the knife twisted in his hand, turning it into his arm and straightening up. he’d been walking around for a while now, had progressed little – maybe he’d have to bite the bullet.

“not really. but i think that’s where we have to go,” sungwoo resigns, glancing over hyuna and then in the direction was coming from – away from the sound. “did you manage to get any weapons?”

She stops. Weapons. Right. “I had some” she waves her hand, filling in the blank. The few she had picked up she gave to others, out of the good of her heart, you could say. She hadn’t quite had the luck to run into any of the other Alpha arcana, but if she had, maybe she would have held onto the weapons she had, but the way she saw it, she didn’t really need any. No sense in arming herself with something that could harm someone when her abilities alone could already do that. At least in that sense she could say she already had a weapon. But glancing at the knife in the other’s hand she felt a bit silly now.

“Sorry,” she mutters, sighing a little as she rubs the back of her neck. “Figured I didn’t really need them, I mean, so sense in making me more dangerous than I already am.” She laughs, sort of. It sounds more defeated than anything, and she hates how the words feel on her tongue. If there was one thing this test had made obvious, it’s how much she needs to hold back when live people are involved. She could at least say she’s never killed someone, but felt like there was an invisible timer, ticking away some where until she did.

The distant cry reminds her, once again, that there’s a task at hand. While weaponless, she pulls out a bottle of water from her bag. Really, this was all she needed if they ran into someone to fight. “You didn’t happen to see anything, did you?” Not in the literal sense, but Sungwoo must have gotten some hints to who was the source of this distress. While she started moving forward already, she was cautious. It could be one of them, an arcana, but they would have been extracted already if that was the case, right? So then the source must be something else.

As she rounds the corner she swears she sees movement in the distance and her first instinct is to duck back around the corner she just came from. Without thinking, she grabs onto the other’s sleeve, pulling him a bit closer to whisper. “There’s someone here” She’s already unscrewing the cap on her bottle, pouring some of the contents out to let it hover above her palm. “I just saw something move down this way. I’ll cover you if you want to see if you can get anything from it. Maybe we can find out if it’s one of ours”

[archyuna-blog]

around the bend

[archyuna-blog]

arcyeon:

“  you alright?  ” there’s a slight worry evident in her voice, but it’s not completely obvious in her features. her hand is extended, offering to help the female up on her feet and quickly assessing for any injuries. “  i didn’t see you coming. though it’s a nice change to meet someone who doesn’t want to fight.  ” a smile appears on her lips before continuing to fixing herself, this time paying attention to a part of her skin that was exposed to the heat. as she concentrates, her golden hues return to hyuna. “  do you need some patching up?  ”

She shakes her head, sighs, but takes the other’s offered hand. She’s grateful for the assistance and the offer but shakes her head. “I’ll be fine, nothing I can’t deal with.” Scrapes and bruises were expected, and she was thankful she had no broken bones or lacerations clawing at her skin. Just a breath, that’s all she really needed, and this moment, even as short as it is, was enough. “Should probably save your energy for later anyways, I doubt this is a short maze” she chuckles a little, shrugs her shoulders.

“You didn’t happen to pick up any weapons on the way, did you?” A huge oversight on Hyuna’s part, but so far through the course she often forgot. It’s easy to when your own abilities don’t depend on them. It was enough if she had some water and a hard surface, one which she definitely had in excess, and the other a bit more limited but enough to work with. It would probably be smart to have one on hand, maybe not so much for her right now, but maybe at least for Gayeon. If they happened to pick up an extra one she’ll make use of it, but for now ...

Not wanting to waste too much time, and having stopped long enough to sufficiently catch her breath she’s already starting to inch forward in a direction, barely even waiting for the other to follow. She figures she might as well take the lead a little. Not that she didn’t think the other could at all, but it just made sense in her head and Hyuna trusted her enough to think that she could watch her back. Considering how easy it was to lose track of each other (as evidenced by her first partner) she kept looking back every now and then to make sure there was still someone behind her, and that someone was Gayeon and not another one of those martial artists sneaking up on her.

The trek was smooth for the most part with no incident, and that only made her more wary. Too long of a stretch with nothing meant that something must be up ahead. And that something ended up being a pit. Another one. She groaned audibly, already reaching for her water bottle, but pauses. “Did you want to keep going? I mean, we can try a different way if you want, but I can get us across.”  She’s already trying to think of the best solution for this if they do cross. It won’t be a problem, just ... careful maneuvering perhaps.

[archyuna-blog]

All Business

[archyuna-blog]

arctaehwa:

there’s a small, but genuine, slant of his lips when she asks. she reminds him of the first year university students who used to ask if they could pour him a drink or sit next to him when they saw him at the pub. the subtle similarity tugs at his nerves, causing a dull ache in his heart. he wonders if it’s because he misses what he once had or that he’s sick of the life he has now. he doesn’t reply immediately, staring at her blankly before lighting up a new cigarette before reaching out to ruffle her hair with one hand, “you don’t have to ask so formally like that, kid. did you think i’d say no?” 

Now this was funny, ironic even. Here he was, wanting her to knock it off with her mom-ing only to turn around and do a bit of it himself. It has her laughing, holding her sides. “I thought it’d be different. Maybe I was too young then, didn’t understand the appeal,” she shrugs her shoulders, “still don’t. Might just not be for me” But she’s got it lit up,  she might as well finish it. It reminds her of younger years, of wide eyed realizations. More specifically that, no matter how much she acted out, it didn’t matter. 'Do what you like but don’t involve me in it’. Echoed twice, once from each parent. They must be happy now, she thought. She was out of their lives, out of the picture. Must be perfect.

One more drag and she’s at the end of her cigarette, eyes squinting at the still orange bud that’s left. There’s grass, and more than enough droplets for her to pool it into her palm, using it to extinguish the last few embers. One the outside, it looks gutsy, using her bare hand to put out her cigarette. but the droplets spilling from between her fingers as she throws it away tells otherwise. She’d have another if it did anything, but she’s fine. She missed what little warmth it gave, and she rubbed the goosebumps from her arms. The cool air was nice at first, but the occasional breeze now and then reminded her it wasn’t quite summer yet.

“‘Shit job’? You shocked me by accident last time because you were too tired” she scolds, but mumbles a quick apology after. Really, she just wanted the best results because she worried about what happens with failure. They were still just starting out, who knows how intense things could get in the future. He was right though, and her shoulders slumped with her sigh.

That didn’t last though as he ruffled her hair. She grumbled, glared at him, hand smoothing it back. It wasn’t bad, barely even disturbed, but her bottom lip still pushed out in a pout. “Well, wanted to keep your options open, give you a chance to say no,” she partially expected him to, “since I thought you’d be sick of my face already.” Moments ago she was sure the conversation would go in that direction and while certainly not mentally prepared she wouldn’t have been too surprised. “If you keep calling me kid though, should I start calling you oppa~” she lets the last syllable hang, coats her voice in sugar as she says it. It makes her teeth ache, shivers run down her spine, and before he even has a chance to get a word in she’s shaking her head and waving the idea away already. “That’s too weird, I won’t, but I’m not that much younger than you,” she grumbles. None the less, she’s happy though, and she leans in a bit closer and lightly nudges his shoulder with hers. “Thanks.”