hydra | svt

INFERNA.

hell
part one.

"soonyoung! stop making everything pink, i can't see shit out here!"

jeonghan's tone is lighthearted but his vulgar words make the fire mage flinch and raise his hands in defence.

"dude, it's not me! look!"

of course, his hands produce no rosy flame. the indication that soonyoung would mess around in such a serious situation feels just out-of-character enough for jeonghan to believe him and immediately fall silent. soonyoung would never admit to being unnerved - by confirming his true feelings they then become extremely real but these are the same people he's been friends with his entire life, his family, and so his sincerity reveals itself in the off-hand comments and half-jokes in poor taste.

however jeonghan has never been one to take the high ground despite being the second-oldest and accuses soonyoung again, perhaps as his own way of coping with the absolute mindfuck of a situation they're all in. the younger mage cries out with disbelief, pouting as he argues his corner with no help from vernon or junhui who watch the show unfold amusedly.

the spineless bickering fails to cease after five minutes and seungcheol becomes increasingly irritated, his brows furrowing further every 30 seconds. he's about to step in a explain that there are more pressing issues at hand when seokmin clears his throat for their attention.

"uhhhh, i don't want to alarm anyone...but we're not alone anymore."

twelve pairs of eyes follow the trembling finger pointed towards north road and land on a dark mass making its way through the fog, which intermittently graduates between a fuchsia as bright as a livid war and a rose pink more gentle than a caress from a lover.

the mass is still too far away to be clearly distinguished but seungcheol doesn't even need to ask for silence as the argument between jeonghan and hoshi falters nonetheless. their gazes become stony, honed in on whatever is approaching.

as the leader seungcheol steps forward protectively, ignoring the crazed stares of his members that silently yell 'what are you doing?'. however, his courage is quickly choked by the fog and he has to clear his throat to make sure his question comes out unmistakeable and clear; the first syllable barely dissipates into the air when a sweet-tempered humming soaks his nerves, disconnecting his mouth from his brain so the rest of the sentence dies on his chapped lips.

everything about the sound is sickly sweet, smoothing over his worries and easing the tension from his face and shoulders; it feels like the first cup of warm cocoa during the winter solstice and seungcheol becomes drunk off of the mellow lullaby, a smile spreading uncontrollably on his face. when he turns back to face the rest of his members, body limp and free of stress, it appears as though he is gazing into a mirror as some of them even begin to hum along, eyelids getting droopier with each passing heartbeat.

the fog soon clears to reveal a figure walking towards the middle of the crossroads, as if they have all the time in the world - it's a woman, her long hair swept up in many grecian braids and buns, each one decorated with fine gold thread and rings. although it appears a bright shade of blonde initially, the boys wonder whether it's the side effects of the lullaby that make it appear all sorts of brown, copper and black as she strides towards them, every movement seeming to change the colour of her hair.

there are no other words to describe her face apart from beautiful - the definition of beauty itself. at a fleeting glance, it's gentle and round, soft in all the right places and each feature compliments the others like a mayfair pole dance in the spring. her eyes, adorned with long, curled lashes, are closed and her throat sways periodically, indicating that she is the caster of this bewitching spell.