The Blue Rose [CLOSED]

The Conservatory was very pretty in the twilight. All of the plants looked lovely when the sun fell down upon them, lighting up nicely in full bloom. Grace had spent the last twenty minutes there, just staring at the plant life and the sunset, not really focusing on any one thing in particular. It was peaceful and quiet here, but that was really no different than her dorm, so really it was just a matter of being closer to here and needing to sit and catch her breath. A hand lay absently on her stomach as it rumbled and roiled unhappily, feeling more ill than she had the other day. Her breath came out in short and ragged gasps, her other hand firmly grasping the bench she sat upon.

"Don't think about it, don't think about it." She repeated it to herself until speaking made her feel worse, forcing her to shut up and sit there silently. To try and forget about how ill she felt, enough to where she could walk home or something, she concentrated specifically on the flower in front of her. It was a pretty shade of blue. A rose or something, she didn't know. Could roses be blue? This wasn't really the time to think about it.

Funny seeing her here. The coincidence really was too much.

Kayla had never been one for staring at the flowers, but sometimes you just had to get away, and what better place than here? She had figured that nobody in their right mind would spend their free time sitting around with a bunch of plants... but it looked like she was wrong. All too wrong.

The fact that it was Grace, someone she kinda-sorta-knew and hadn't tried to kill yet, was only a bit reassuring. Not wanting to sneak up on her, she let her presence be known with a loud zap around her bangs. "You look like shit," Kayla said by way of greeting. "I wouldn't hurl in the flowers though. The landscaper'll kill you."

She was intent enough on the flowers before her that she only sort of started in surprise at the loud zap that sounded behind her. Turning around, she gulped weakly when she saw Kayla standing there. It seemed any time she met Kayla, she was in some kind of distress… or was that just all the time here now? "I'm… fine." She felt sick enough, and it was a short enough sentence, that she didn't even stutter through it, but that didn't make her feel better. Of course, she could say she was fine all she wanted, but she was looking a lot paler.

"I didn't… expect to see you here…" A soft whimper accompanied her words, and she gripped the bench even tighter, finding it difficult to look directly at the electrifying girl. The landscapers might not be enthusiastic, but she could tell she was going to be sick. Her powers were causing unwanted havoc on her body, and her right hand and arm were starting to become randomly enveloped in darkness, fitfully and weakly.

"Didn't really expect to be here," she muttered, looking the girl over with a slight frown. Shit, what was her problem? There was shy, and then there was painfully, aggravatingly shy. "You don't look fine. What's wrong with you? Eat the cafeteria food?"

She couldn't help but stare at the darkness that had begun to envelop the girl's arm. It was just... blackness. What was the worst this girl could do, even if she tried? Could those shadows be used as a weapon, or was it just used to turn out the lights? Kayla sighed, hooking a thumb into her shorts pocket. Why do I even care?

Because you have no real agency. "One bite..." She muttered quietly, standing up and impatiently gazing around the conservatory with desperate eyes. A trash can sat alone in a corner a short distance away from them, which she headed for on unsteady feet. There would always be a refuse receptacle. Something about keeping the world clean, and people liked that kind of thing. She reached it, grabbed the sides with a vice-like grip, and began vomiting, tears welling up in her eyes as pain shot through her back. It felt like her spine was being bent in half with each heave, and she was left crying on shaking legs when the contents of her stomach were finally emptied, a sour, burning taste left in her mouth.

"It hurts..." An understatement, surely. Her voice didn't carry very well, so it seemed more like she was muttering to herself. "I can't control it..."

"H—...hey...!"

Yuck. Too late. Grace was already stumbling away toward a nearby trash can, bending down to hurl up her breakfast. Well... better than in the plants at least. She put a hand on the back of her head, scrunching up her nose. The tears, the acrid scent of vomit, her whispery voice. Kayla felt uncomfortable just being in the same building as her. "Can't control what? Puking your guts out?" Sparks ran up her arm. "Most people can't. Do you need a nurse or something?"

She didn't respond at first. Even in her sickness she found time to feel embarrassed, deciding in her mind that it was more likely now that Kayla wasn't too keen on being anywhere near her. It was more than likely a paranoia thing, as the only way of truly knowing was to ask, and she was definitely not going to do that. Wiping her mouth clean on her jacket sleeve - she really needed to stop wearing it anyway; it wasn't normal - she turned around and looked at Kayla weakly, or at least in the general area where the girl was.

"No, I... I can't control my powers." Her now-emptied stomach was still unsettled enough that it was distracting her apparently-natural tendency to stutter, but it didn't make her voice any louder. The sparks dancing on Kayla's arm continued to unnerve her; while it was similar to the darkness obscuring the pale skin on her arm, it seemed more... dangerous. Her eyes lingered there, a nervous expression on her face before she pulled away and forced herself back to eye contact. "It feels like it's... trying to hurt me."

Kayla was silent for a moment, staring at the other girl in silent contemplation. She couldn't help but look down at her own arm, the electricity that enveloped her arm like snakes. After however many months, however many years, she'd gotten almost used to it. Her power felt like it was just a part of her now, something she'd gotten so comfortable with, as familiar to her as the back of her hand. But still, even after all this time, she was a lot like Grace.

Her gift was untamed, wild, at times it felt like it would consume her. She knew the feeling of a runaway gift too well.

"Don't try fighting it then." Sparks danced around her fingers. She showed Grace a bitter half-smile. "You have to let it become part of you or else you'll burn up and die. That's what you're here to learn, isn't it?"

A look of dread sprung up in Grace's expression as she listened to Kayla's sage wisdom. She couldn't let it become part of her. It wasn't hers... but the pain it brought and how unwieldy it could be was becoming too much to bear. Maybe it was her only option at this point. She took another couple of unsteady steps towards Kayla, tugging nervously on her clean jacket sleeve.

"Will you... uh, h-hel..." She balked at outright asking the girl for help, feeling awkward at imposing on her. "I d-don't know how to... control it. It... i-it feels like it controls me instead."

"Help you?" Kayla's bitter half-smile turned into a feral, wolfish smile. "And how am I supposed to do that? Spar with you?" The lightning around her fingers seemed to gain more ferocity as she said it. "Coach you? I don't even know what your power does." But God, if she wasn't getting eager to find out. Things had been far too quiet since she got all these new bandages and casts, and Kayla was getting antsy. Even before she'd gained this gift, it'd always been hard to sit still and play nice for long.

"But if I'm honest, I've been needing someone to... practice with." She took a step forward, toward Grace, blue fire in her eyes. "Ever heard of the Summer Tournament?"

The mood in the room changed very quickly when Kayla easily guessed what Grace had wanted to say. The atmosphere seemed to become more charged, and Grace felt a nervous shudder dance up and down her spine. Something was different on the other girl's face… perhaps it was that smile, one that looked like a predator sizing up a defenseless piece of prey. Spar? Like fighting? A look of alarm burst into full bloom on her face, causing her to begin shaking violently.

"N-no, I-I've never h-heard of the S-S-Summer Tournament. Y-you want me to h-help you p-p-practice?" Her first instinct was to run. When Kayla stepped ever-closer to her, the fire burning in her eyes put legitimate fear in the hearts of young girls. She couldn't run, though; her natural tendency towards paralyzing social awkwardness kept her rooted to the spot, staring at Kayla fearfully. She did manage to seemingly shrink into herself and let out a timid whimper. "I-I-I d-d-d-d-d-don't w-want to i-i-impose."

"Impose?" There was a glint in amusement in her eye as more electricity rippled down her arm and into her hand. "You want to be in control of yourself, don't you? You won't learn to tame it if you don't use it." She reached out, poking Grace in the shoulder and giving her a quick little jolt. "You're shaking like a leaf. What are you so scared of? Don't you trust me?"

Kayla's grin widened. "It's just a fighting tournament." And the winner won five hundred bucks. Oh, all that money... She'd be able to live like a queen with all that cash.

"A-ah!" Grace jumped back in surprise when Kayla sent a tiny jolt through her shoulder, putting a hand on the spot with some trepidation. It was hard to deny the fear rippling through her body like an untamed current. It also had the added effect of working her power up, and darkness started fitfully running up and down her right arm as her body refused to quit its shivering. "Y-y-yes, I-I w-want to c-control it." Her words were timid and mouse-like. "I-I just... h-haven't fought someone before." She had never even been close to being in a fight, and her powers didn't seem very offense-minded; they only seemed to hurt her, not others.

"Y-you want t-to p-p-practice r-right here?" She gulped nervously, looking as if she might collapse any moment. It wasn't just the shyness, which would only produce maybe half of her nervous shaking. It was a fear that Kayla was going to hurt her. Maybe it was just practicing for this tournament thing, and she was making it out to be something bigger than it actually was, but the fact that it made her uneasy was putting it mildly. She could help Grace with controlling her powers though, and she now desperately wanted that, so maybe this was the only way. Her mind wasn't doing a good job of sorting out which thought she wanted to pursue at present.

"It's not hard," Kayla said, stepping closer and leaning in until their noses were only five or so inches away. Up close it was easier to see the bags under her eyes, the faint freckles, the faded bruising from her recently-healed broken nose and black eye. Her grin, her eyes didn't give anything away but a nonchalance. It was a world of difference from how she'd been only a few minutes before. "Just try hitting me. You can use your power for that, can't you? Skewer me, suffocate me, slice me. Whatever it takes."

Grace finally found movement in her legs, and she took several steps back, visibly frightened. Hurt her? Her powers didn't really have an offensive capabilities, and she didn't even know if she could hurt someone anyway. "M-m-my powers a-aren't s-supposed to h-hurt anyone… I-I don't think…" At least, she didn't think they had any offensive powers. Obviously, she hadn't exactly tried, but she didn't believe they did. Still… Was this supposed to help her control her powers? By attacking someone?

"I-I can… t-t-try though." She took those retreated steps back, until the two were once again face to face. Kayla's confident, wild look was really unnerving, but she was older, and had been here longer. Maybe she just knew better… Gulping nervously, Grace put a shaking hand on Kayla's arm and tried desperately to will her powers to flow through her. It took several seconds, but eventually a cold darkness began to cover Kayla's arm where Grace's hand was situated, creating a cold, empty feeling around the area. Trying her best to concentrate, the darkness began to spread down the older girl's arm, starting to numb all feeling there.