The Blue Rose [CLOSED]

"What do you mean you don't know?" Kayla held her hand out as the darkness began to form around it, enveloping it. It tingled. Was this what Grace meant when she said she felt chilly? Gradually, it spread further and further up her arm, and the tingling sensation gave away to a cold numbness.

Electricity suddenly rippled down and the darkness dispersed, shredded like cloth, evaporating into the air like nothing. She flexed her fingers, grinning. "Sure looks like they can hurt, if you're patient enough. Is that really the most you can do right now?"

Grace let out a tiny yelp of alarm when she saw the sparks of electricity start to course up and down Kayla's arm, and she quickly backed away as they dispersed the darkness like an annoying fly. She looked up at Kayla with wide and fearful eyes. Sure, she didn't think her powers had any damaging abilities, but she knew that the chill she felt every so often was painful enough, if not in the conventional way. Yet this girl just brushed it off like it was nothing. Maybe it only affected her because she was incredibly weak. Secretly as well, she felt a bit indignant that Kayla could so casually dismiss her like that, even if it was true.

"Y-yes," she murmured with a tinge of shame in her voice. Why was she even here? Well, obviously she would learn to harness her powers at the school - that's what it was for, after all - but seeing Kayla have a similar thing with her power, though it was of a different element, and yet control it so easily made her feel inadequate, like she wouldn't be able to ever control this empty, cold feeling inside of her. Then a shiver that had nothing to do with her powers ran down her spine. She had tried - and failed - to use her powers on Kayla. Wasn't she allowed the same courtesy? Her power was electricity though… She was terrified that she would end up electrocuted. There was still that wild, grinning glint in Kayla's eyes; would she kill her? Wouldn't someone know? She was rather new to the school; maybe no one even knew she was here. Oh god...

"That's terrible. What are you gonna do? Keep me chilly until I beg for mercy?" Kayla turned up her palm, watching the electricity collect in her hand in a loose sphere. "Do you wanna know the secret? You have to put your heart into it. Get angry." Her grin widened, and she stepped forward, electricity coursing up her leg. "You have to want to kill me. Now don't be so boring."

With every step forward Kayla took, Grace followed with a step backward, darkness starting to cover her arms in black as she shook like a leaf. Yup, she was gonna die. "I-I don't want to kill anyone!" She protested weakly, unable to keep her eyes off the electricity rippling across the older girl's body. She didn't even know how to get angry, and regardless, that wouldn't cause her powers to do anything useful. Her gaze darted to her right and left, wondering if she could run to the exit. Doubtfully; she still was feeling rather weak from losing her lunch, and it seemed likely that a healing Kayla would catch her, nevermind the fact that she could possibly just shoot electricity at her. Was it long range or a touch attack? Did that matter?

"S-someone w-w-will know I'm here." It was barely a response. It wasn't even true, and her tone said as much. Maybe it was out of desperation, or near-paralyzing fear, but Grace finally acted. With a trembling hand, she reached out and grabbed Kayla's face with a darkened palm, allowing the darkness to run wild across the marked area as well as her arm.

For a second Kayla thought the girl was going to bolt. Disappointing. She needed a punching bag, and even if Grace didn't realize it, she was being serious. Your powers were linked to your emotions, the condition of your body, the people around you, your own mental discipline. It was different for everyone, but you had to find how to channel your gift, how to keep it contained, how to express it without accidentally blowing up a building.

Not to say that she was exactly trying to be the sage tutor right now. She was just tired of all that stuttering.

So when Grace reached out to grab her face, Kayla was surprised. The cold, numbing darkness spread over her face, down her neck, and out of instinct, Kayla reached up with her good hand to clasp Grace by the wrist.

Blue lightning coursed through her palm to give Grace a jolt, enough to make her release her grip. Kayla went stumbling backwards, the darkness dissipating around her face, more sparks crackling around her head.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she panted.

A warm sensation surrounded Grace's wrist, and she only had time to widen her eyes before a jolt of electricity shot through Kayla's hand and onto the younger girl's wrist, forcing her to let go and fall back with a sharp gasp, gently rubbing her shocked wrist and looking fearfully at her quite unhappy opponent. "D-don't k-kill me..." It wasn't much of a response, but it was all she had at the moment. That felt like the 'best' attack she could do, and it clearly barely phased the other girl, meaning this wasn't going to end well. What was she supposed to do now? The hand holding her wrist now began to spread darkness of its own around itself and her wrist, though she was too amped up on fear to notice that the shock didn't sting as much as she thought it would.

OoC: I wonder how those two other topics of mine are going to go after Kayla executes Grace gangland-style.

All it would take was a small jolt and the girl would go running... or go collapsing to the floor with electrical burns. It was hard to gauge her own voltage at times. In the heat of the moment, Kayla was so tempted to just shock her like she'd shocked so many other people, but something made her hold back. That was just too pitiful. Kayla let go of her wrist with a subtle look of disgust and flicked her fingers, sending a few blue sparks crackling in front of Grace's nose. "Whatever," she mumbled, letting her hand fall back to her side. "Doesn't it make you angry to be so helpless?"

Those words stirred some kind of emotion within her. Anger, maybe... She couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, it hardened her gaze and she took another step back from Kayla, almost giving what looked like a glare with even an appropriate amount of vitriol, or maybe it was just unease. She couldn't see herself. Helpless? "Y-you w-wouldn't understand anything..." That felt just as bad a response as her previous one. It felt fake, unknowing, maybe even cliche, but helpless? She did feel helpless. Not for the reasons Kayla probably imagined, of course, but helpless nevertheless. Placing a hand on her still-upset stomach, Grace slowly began walking towards, and then past, Kayla, wanting to go home, somewhere, anywhere but here. She looked over at Kayla, and she saw that disgust, however subtle. The girl's entire body showed it enough.

"I guess I... I'm not the only who's helpless, then."