#wicked;p

[xxxxxnxmseulgi]

[blackout] origins.  ft. kji

the lights flickered, a boom sounded, and all at once the world was dark, aside from the embers of the cigarette between her fingers. the light of the afternoon sun filtered in quiet from the windows down the hall from where she stood. she'd been at soohyuk's for extra help in a desperate bid to improve on her powers, to stop the slow decay that came with the burden of magic and had needed one hell of a dose of nicotine thereafter. and yeah, okay, smoking in the middle of the school building was probably not allowed, or whatever, but she was technically on her way out when it happened regardless.

the staff began handling the outage in exactly the inept way one would expect - by tossing sleeping bags out of their offices and telling the kids to 'fend for themselves'. for a school supposedly designed to house and care for mutants they certainly lacked any failsafe mechanisms you'd think would be necessary to keep the kids safe. she figured the poor little sixteen year olds were wishing they'd stayed in regular kid high school right about now.

it was a quick trip out of the school building through a helpfully blown window - some other straggler eager to get out, no doubt- and into the sun. at least there would be light for awhile yet, she noted, exhaling a cloud of smoke into the warm afternoon air. a quick survey of the grounds around her showed the makings of the beginning of lord of the flies, or something, as kids broke off into little groups, packs of students meandering towards the lake or attempting to construct fire pits.

seulgi's plan was, as ever, quite simple. find jongin.

it was easy enough, considering within moments he'd come to her, a crow landing on the ground beside her before a strange series of sounds heralded the other's presence, prompting a grin lazy over her lips. "i was waiting for you." she teased lightly, slid her hand down to twist their fingers together as she stubbed out her cigarette, flicked the end into the trash. "so, got a game plan, then?" jongin was nothing if not a strategist and seulgi was generally content to go along with his ideas, or at least offer suggestions to augment what he'd drummed up. she twisted her fingers quick, summoning a ball of magic into her palm, glinting with the same pale gold glow that all of the magical energy she harnessed had, casting a faint light around them. "darkness won't be a problem, this is like the first thing i figured out i could do." she explained, summoning a few more and 'juggling' them lightly before she flicked her fingers to disperse them, grinning quick at the other.

[xxxxxnxmseulgi]

basketcase. ft pk.

by the time they finish the simulation, seulgi is fracturing. there is a pounding in her chest that feels more like the hooves of a stampede of horses forcing her down, trampling her than it does like the beating of her heart. there is a migrane that pounds at her temples and a wild panic in her eyes, fingers curling into her hair, against her temples, as she drops to her knees. she curls in on herself, tries to remembered the meditative breaths, the careful visualizations, all the things she is supposed to do and say and focus on when the magic is roaring and rampant inside her.

but what can one girl do against that force?

its always there, knocking at the door to her mind, threatening to sweep in like a flood and consume her. and times like this, when she is exhausted from channeling that magic, that raw and wild energy, she can feel the walls she has constructed breaking down, crumbling beneath the onslaught. the air around her crackles with the energy surging through her. she's pushed herself too far, over extended herself in some stupid simulation like a complete fucking idiot. she's still cognizant enough to know she needs to get herself together, present enough to know she needs to reign it in, shut down the impulse in her to channel the magic through her until it explodes around her.

sometimes she feels like it might rip her apart.

a hand heavy on her shoulder provides an anchoring point, has dazed eyes flickering up, up, to the boy she's been working with for the simulation - park kyung, called a monster just as she is, different names for similar demons, she supposes. she focuses on his face and tries to breathe, she thinks he might be saying something but the roaring in her ears makes it difficult to hear. minutes pass one by one as she slowly pulls the power back into herself, bottling it all up tight in the center of her chest like a bomb waiting to explode.

"thanks." she murmurs, quick and grateful for the lack of fear in his eyes, pushing up to her feet as her head spins slightly, eyes squeezing shut tight, one hand moving to grab his arm to brace herself. "well this is fucking embarrassing, isn't it? promise i'm not always a basket case."

[xxxxxnxmseulgi]

figment. myg.

she remembered being young, young enough her mind was bright and fresh and the boy with the strange blue fires clinging to his hands had been something interesting instead of something scary. she remembered being a little older, alone and awake in the dead of night and beckoning  him to her bedside, climbing out the window to follow him to the playground. she remembers the look of horror on her mother's face when she explained about the boy she can summon to her side just by repeating his name, the boy who can make castles in the air for her. she remembered the sting of her mother's palm across her face when she offered to show her, to bring him forth, remembered the day she realized the boy should be kept a secret just like the magic that crackles from her fingertips. she remembered soft lips and careful hands, the thud of her heart in her chest and nervous confessions, a bouquet of wildflowers left on her windowsill and the sleepy way he smiled.

there were worse memories, too, that clouded the surface of her mind. at fifteen the powers she had been using unintentional and recklessly break her, her mind a fractured mess, fragments left scattered. there were doctors and medicines and needles and the assurance from her mother it had all been a lie- from her magic to the boy she swears she can still feel against her hands. a few days later and she'd been shipped off to the countryside for 'healing air and peacefulness' and her grandmother's careful guidance.

so when she came face to face with him, that same boy, that same impossible figure standing in front of her, she froze. for so long - for years - she had been sure he was a figment, a way to cope with her mutation, her madness, an anchor in the loneliness and fear. she had been told as much, had it impressed upon her time and again, drilled into her brain. maybe the simulation was too much for her, the stress of the overflow cracking down the careful constructions of her mind, sending her back into that madness, that fear.

it wasn't until later, in the still of the night, that she tried again. for the first time in seven years she sat in the center of her bed, knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, her heart thudding in her ears and her fingers trembling just slightly as she whispered a name- his name- thrice, and held her breath.

[xxxxxnxmseulgi]

familiar. kji.

Slender legs strode purposeful across the grounds, traversing fresh laid concrete to carry her back to the dorms, because on a brilliant and bright afternoon like this, Seulgi was not about to suffer through a sex education class. Not when she was twenty goddamn one years old and quite well versed in all things sexual - both safe and decidedly not - and old enough to be a mother or get married. Required classes were by their very nature somewhat problematic in her eyes - suppose a poor mutant suppressed their powers until forty when they stumble perplexed upon the school, enrolled as a student, were they to attend sex ed classes with a bunch of children, as well? It seemed flawed, inherently, but she supposed it was a new venture even for the staff and they were trying their best.

Still, she wasn't going to waste precious daylight under those circumstances, sneakers squeaking as they carried her up and up and up a flight of stairs, down a back hallway and up the utility staircase in the back, something decidedly less polished up than the outer corridors of the library. The school itself might have been relatively new but for a night owl like Seulgi with a thirst for adventure it didn't take all too long to map out the little cracks in the armor of the place. The sun fell warm against her skin, wind gentle as it slid through her hair, exposed to the elements by the flat expanse of the rooftop. The girl whistled a quick tune, directed to a crow perched precisely on the metal railing, wings slightly extended and its feathers a glossy black. It was an educated guess, but considering she'd first met the other under similar conditions, she figured it was near certain. "Come on, pup, you know I hate birds," she complained, lilted playful as she ambled over to the railing to lean against it, glanced sidelong at the bird, gaze landing skeptically on the wrinkled talons, a grimace drifting quick over her lips. "Fucking gross."