⚡ ML INBOX

[evocation]

@kyna.medina | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

Comments

[evocation]

[Kyna perks up immediately. Quite literally, actually—she stands up on her tiptoes a bit. Her face always lights up when she finds out someone else could use magic back home. She can't help it.]

Holy shit, me too. And yeah, duh, of course you are. It's just... you know. Locked away or something.

[hiyakai]

[ he

was not expecting that, so color him surprised. ]

Wait— [ a slow smile begins to spread across his face. ] Seriously? You're a witch too? [ he can understand that excitement reflected on her face because, truth be told, he is incapable of not feeling the same way when encountering another witch. like what are the freaking odds? ] Guess there's more to you than meets the eye, Kyna.

[evocation]

[Kyna bursts out laughing.]

What's that supposed to mean, jerk?

[hiyakai]

Look, you were like a total goody two shoes in the Aerie. And not that I'm saying witches don't go by the book, but... [ he waves his hand vaguely. ] you didn't exactly standout. In the nicest way possible. Which was sort of the problem.

[evocation]

Hey.

[She actually does sound a little offended now.]

I always stand out. Just because I don't have the pretty bad boy thing going on like you did doesn't mean I don't stand out.

[hiyakai]

[ okay, now he's arching his brow at her. ]

Pretty bad boy thing?

[evocation]

[She lets out a long-suffering sigh, like this is a ridiculous question.]

You're pretty, but everyone was intimidated by you because of the Quarry bullshit. It's a thing.

[Duh!]

[hiyakai]

[ it's his turn to release a good-natured laugh, shaking his head in mild amusement. ]

Thanks. I've never been called pretty before. [ no comment on the quarry bullshit though. ]

[evocation]

[She squints at him, almost suspiciously.]

Are you bullshitting me?

[hiyakai]

[ he splays open his hands. ]

No lie. [ why would he bullshit about something like that, kyna? ]

[evocation]

What, were you hiding under a rock your whole life?

[Wait, what was her point here?]

Anyway, I'm awesome. That's what I'm saying.

[hiyakai]

More or less the equivalent of one.

[ cue eye roll. ]

Yeah, sure. You're the coolest.

[evocation]

[She knows he's being an asshole, but she beams at him anyway.]

Thanks. Now tell me about your magic.

[hiyakai]

Come on, Kyna. You can't just ask me something like that out in public. [ he fans himself with his left hand. ] Wow. So shameless.

[evocation]

Oh my God. Do you want me to buy you dinner first?

[hiyakai]

Well, since you offered... Yes.

[evocation]

[Okay, she walked into that.]

What do you want? Red Wings?

[hiyakai]

Anywhere with burgers, fries and alcohol will work.

[evocation]

So Red Wings.

[She loops her arm through his instinctively and heads for the door. Sorry, Kai.]

Tell me on the way.

[hiyakai]

[ she's so touchy and he isn't expecting it enough to stumble juuust a little as she tugs him out of the safehouse. ]

What do you want to know?

[evocation]

Everything. How does it work? What does it feel like?

[hiyakai]

Well, it kinda depends on the type of magic you use. The most traditional form draws its energy from the Earth itself. Mother Nature functions as the primary source of our power, which we can then use spells, astrology, divination, whatever's your flavor of tea to manifest and control.

[ he can branch into all the specific types, but a summary's enough for now. ]

It's... the best feeling in the world when you have it. When it's coursing through your veins and it's with you. Like... like everything in your life just makes sense and you know who you are because it's a part of you. It is you. And without it, well...

[ he grows quiet for a moment and then— ] Anyway, your turn. [ he glances down at her. ] What's your magic like?

[evocation]

[As he talks, Kyna bites her lip, some of that endless energy tempered. She's mostly worked through the loss of her magic, but... Hearing him put it into words like that dredges it all up again.]

Like that. Just like that. It feels like... being blind, right? Missing a limb.

[hiyakai]

I think it's more than that. [ his voice softens considerably. ] It's like... you've lost yourself. [ again. ]

They took that away from us, so... [ his expression is impassive and unreadable, yet there's a hardness in his eyes that wasn't there before. he keeps his gaze fixed ahead of them. ] the only thing we should want from those gods is our magic back. Nothing else matters. At least not to me.

[evocation]

Yeah.

[She says it softly, giving his arm a little impulsive squeeze.]

But we haven't lost ourselves. You know that, right? We're still us, magic or not.