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COZEN | 𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕
-ˋˏ ༻🌙༺ ˎˊ-
❝ 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔫𝔢𝔤𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 ❞
When Maya was a baby she was always whimsical; always whining, always moping, yet over time she progressively matured. Maya had the misfortune to manifest her gifts too early, and since powers are connected to emotions, she had the occasion to suffer the negativity of her own since a very young age.
It all kicked off with a tantrum, this time caused by Lark who had been tugging at her hair cause Lark...is Lark. She was about four years old, although her powers had already been revealed, they were still tenuous; that's what Lorelai and Mark assumed, that they were innocuous, but they weren't conscious of the psychological harm they could inflict on their daughter.
She began to cry, weeping because Lark wouldn't quit with her hair and Maya, though temperamental, wouldn't hurt a fly; her feelings became overwhelming, her puffy cheeks were drenched in hot tears, while her rage and melancholy kept entwining. All of a sudden her eyes flashed purple, but not the vivid purple that shines in her eyes every time she employs her magic powers, but a sheer purple still not entirely ignited.
Lark unexpectedly began to shriek, all the while Maya sobbed, unaware that her powers were striking at her brother's psyche, who found his deepest terrors taking shape right in front of his eyes.
But they weren't even real.
Yet to his eyes they appeared so stark and terrifying, that he too felt the talons of dread brush his face and leave him paling, as he ceased pulling at his sister's hair but still maintaining his grip around her fair locks. He wailed too, and as his parents finally stepped into their living room, Lorelai almost blacked out when she found Lark riddled with scars gracing his skin.
And it had all been because of an innocent child, a child who was still clueless, and still was.
Maya was yet too small to understand, but every time she considered it, the realization that she had done wrong and the pangs of guilt swelled with her; her mother explained to her at the age of 13 how it had happened, thinking by now that her daughter was ready to begin learning the secrets of the magic that coursed through her blood vessels.
Two words: psychosomatic illusion.
The child's temper tantrum over her brother pulling her hair had caused the magic to create illusions so realistic and powerful that they struck Lark psychologically and created bruises on his skin.
Maya hadn't cried so much in her life, by now no doubt guilty of the scars she gave them but the sibling relationship between the two of them was still shaky; Maya still felt bad, while Lark was slowly beginning to forgive her, rightly maturing in his own way too and coming to the conclusion that it wasn't just her that was the culprit, but him as well.
Lark had the same powers, but he manifested them later, yet he was the first one who improved with their use; he began to teach, together with his mother, how to control them and Maya, although she was hesitant and afraid of repeating the same mistake again, began to practice, but without ever giving her it all.
She began to wash away that dark memory, spending time with her family, improving her relationship with Lark, even though he still often teases her, but never mentions that incident. He hid the scars so as not to expose them to his sister to make her feel guilty.
It went on like this for an extended period of time, until we reach the current day, specifically at Alfea, when this bitter experience resurfaced.
"Never let negative emotions lead you," Principal Dowling addressed, Maya tilting her head to see her tough expression regarding the empty stone, "it can cause the resurgence of..." she eyed the girl, whose eyes were shimmering with tears, "unpleasant reminders."
Musa glanced pityingly at Maya, feeling every fibre of unhappiness in her being as she slumped back in her seat while the students began to debate amongst themselves over the fact that they hadn't witnessed any display from the girl. As Bloom was called over, Musa and Terra both placed a shoulder around the girl's as a gesture of support, which Maya valued.
"So, here are the alternatives. We could make a list of emotional triggers," Aisha prompted as a solution to Bloom's problem, while Maya kept her head hung low and kept her dish intact.
"Aisha, I appreciate your intentions, but..." Bloom hesitated, "I can do this on my own."
"I know. I just think you're too focused on the whole changeling thing and you're dwelling on it too much."
"Ah, so everyone knows?" Bloom made a mistrustful countenance as Aisha simply glanced below.
"Is that why you went crazy with the brazier?" Terra commenced, Maya planting her face flat against the table groaning loudly as Musa patted her back, "It makes a lot more sense because that's the easiest task and I'm making it worse..." she trailed off, having seen Musa's gesture of locking it.
"We have a plan to get the ring back." Stella's heels clicked, causing Maya to look up and see that she already had a dirty look aimed at her from the Princess of Solaria, "thanks to your stupid little game. Seems like that's all your powers are good for." Maya clenched her jaw as a blonde boy appeared behind the princess, recognising him as the one who had spoken to Bloom on the first day and at the party.
Stella placed a map on the table and Musa asked, shaking Maya's hand which was frustrated by the earlier statement, "what is it?"
"Alfea!" Terra smiled, looking at the map "The little dotted line is the barrier and this is the axa rope. Windy meadow! When I was little I used to spend every afternoon-"
"Good story Terra!" Stella smiled falsely, and then moved her gaze back to a uninterested Maya, "What is it May? Do you miss your boyfriend?"
"You have a boyfriend?" Terra grinned enthusiastically, as the others eyed oddly a bemused Maya.
"I have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, the boy who's been staring at you the whole time back there." Stella smirked villainically, slanting her head over towards the table the boy was at.
Maya spotted Aeden and rose from the table, "First of all I don't have a boyfriend," her lips twitched, her stare duelling Stella's, "Better than having one who's only with you because he feels pity and is just into someone else."
Hii, how are you?
AAA! 10k reads! Oof, thank you all so much, I love you all!
And thanks for being patient as I didn't update yesterday, but here I am!
For those who don't know what psychosomatic illusion is: it's still part of illusionistic powers and the person can produce such realistic and powerful illusions, often triggered by strong emotions, and this can hurt the victim causing cuts, wounds, burns, which is what happened as you read, to Maya with her brother when she was little.
I hope you liked the fact that I added something to Maya's backstory and now we just need to find where Lark has gone.