Elements of Reality

XXIII

"Life?" Aurora repeated, brows furrowed as she turned her gaze towards Seokjin. 

The group were now heading further away from the small cottage in the woods, a cool breeze brushing against their skin and entangling itself through their hair as they trudged through the forest once again. 

From up front, Hoseok pursed his lips, holding his phone to the sky as he moved it slowly backwards and forth. Frowning, the orange haired male carefully held his phone a little to his right, eyes growing wide when three small bars appeared in the top corner of his screen. 

"Everyone stop!" he shrieked, placing a hand out to stop the group in their tracks. A wide grin crept over his features as he began tapping away at his phone. "Finally I've got bars." he uttered, poking his tongue out from the corner of his lips as he concentrated on carefully typing their location into google maps, eyeing out any motels in the area. 

From behind him, Seokjin decided to answer Aurora's question, running a hand through his hair as he turned to face the girl, "Life doesn't just bring healing and good deeds... it can also bring harm and death." he began to explain, voice steady as he spoke on, "The element of life not only has the ability to renew life, but also take it."

Aurora gulped, a lump forming in her throat as she thought back to the male at the cottage. He was dangerous. The element of life was dangerous. This whole time she'd felt comforted by the feeling of having the elementals around her, that they would protect her and keep her safe, but lately things seemed almost the opposite. 

Bringing her dainty fingers over the hem of her shirt, she began to fidget with the material. 

The thought of this elemental scared her. 

Mouth going dry, Aurora sucked in a short breath of air, "By the looks of him, I think he's probably already figured it out." she spoke up, gaze falling to her feet as she recalled the frightened look on the male's face back at the cottage. The anxiety, the gloved hands, and his defensive tone practically said it all.

Seokjin gave a small nod, placing his hands against his hips as he let out a sigh, "And probably not in a good way." he stated, biting down on his lower lip, "He's isolated himself from the world, kept himself from people... most likely to avoid taking a life. He probably thinks he's cursed. He has no control over his ability which is why as the collector of the elements you need to make contact with him."

Aurora's lips parted, "How come? He already has his ability."

The corner of Seokjin's lip momentarily rose into a smirk before his expression fell flat once again, "Have you not noticed how easily Hoseok and Yoongi picked up on their abilities?" he began to explain, "Like instinct, they may've had a fright at first, but they had control."

Aurora's eyes grew wide, gaze rising to meet with Seokjin's once again, "Oh God... that's true." she uttered. 

After a bit of a heart attack at first, Yoongi and Hoseok had mastered their abilities quite easily. When Yoongi had first gained his, they managed to leap from a three story building and mess with a construction sight without hurting themselves. And in Hoseok's case, he managed to straight up defend himself without even knowing he had an ability in the first place.