Force of Will:

Hayan:

After breakfast and another scolding lecture from her grandmother the group was off again. As they passed through the forest the temperature increased, fighting off the winter chill to the point were most of them had taken off their cloaks or even spelled them away so they didn’t have to keep carrying them anymore. Hayan was hesitant to do the same with the growing number of runes on her. She had taken to wearing a pair of leather fingerless gloves to hide the mark she received during the ice giant fight. She wasn’t sure how many of the guys, if any, knew about the rune she already had on the back of her right shoulder, but she had decided it didn’t matter and that she would just keep them all hidden until she knew why they were appearing.

It had to be just past noon when the forest abruptly ended and an enormous canyon laid before the traveling group. The gap to the other side had to be at least two miles wide with a very steep and jagged drop off the edge.

“Now what?” Jongdae asked as they were just standing around doing nothing.

“Cross it,” Haru stated. She held out her arms at the canyon gesturing to the majestic sight before summoning a chair to sit in as she turned to the group for their solutions.

“I assume flying across and simply walking it aren’t options,” Sehun deadpanned with a huff.

“Don’t you catch on quick twig boy,” the professor said with a sarcastic grin.

They all groaned.

So for the next few hours the nine of them bounced ideas off of one another, none of the suggestions gaining any ground as someone always had a counter argument to its success-fulness.

“I could fill it with water and we could sail across,” Junmyeon said.

“So you’re gonna drown everything that lives in the valley?” Chanyeol challenged.

“What about a land bridge?” Jongin suggested. “You can do that right Kyungsoo?”

The short haired boy shook his head. “That’s too far and much for my powers. If I had full control maybe, but earth is tricky and can be unstable,” he replied.

“Dang,” Jongin sighed.

“What about you Jongin?” Baekhyun said. “You could teleport us one by one over the gape.”

Jongin shook his head more fervently than Kyungsoo did. “Not that far and not that many times. I already struggle with two people just a short distance. I can’t do that,” he said pointing at the two miles of open canyon, eyes wide.

Flopping onto his back Baekhyun groaned. “Then what do we do?”

“How about we take a break and come back with fresh minds. I know I’m getting a headache,” Junmyeon said as he got to his feet.

“I’m game,” Minseok said jumping to his feet and dusting off his pants.

“Same!” Sehun said making himself comfortable on the ground.

Hayan pulled her knees to her chest as the others went their ways and she continued to stare off at the obstacle at hand. How did one get across a gap that large without messing up the environment around them? A removable land bridge would be the best solution, but Kyungsoo had been right about his ability. . .

Then a thought came to Hayan and she was shooting up from her spot on the ground and racing off to find the force magic user.

•••

Kyungsoo:

He was skeptical about what Hayan had suggested to him, but there was solid logic behind it. And if the logic was hard to fight it was impossible for him to go against the bright eyed look on her face that almost never made an appearance. She had her hands clasped before her like she was begging him to believe in her with a thin smile on her face that showed how unsure she was that he would have faith in her. Kyungsoo didn’t dislike Hayan, nor did he overly like her either. He just felt bad that she was always on the outside of their group like she was an outcast instead of a fellow soon-to-be guardian. He knew what that felt like growing up in a town that rarely saw magic and he was the only wielder for miles. Being an outcast in a place you should belong to was the worst feeling in the world.

Sighing he caved and nodded.

Giving a happy little yelp of excitement she turned and pulled him along to the canyon’s edge where Sehun was still lounging. The others were still off taking their break while Hayan turned to him and grabbed his dominant hand and placed it on her left shoulder.

“Okay, now just use me as a focal rod. I’ll take the backlash of magic and focus it down and away from you so you can build the bridge,” she explained her plan.

“Are you sure about this Hayan? This is really dangerous and you’re not,” he paused to find the right words that wouldn’t insult her or her ‘lacking’ ability with magic.

“If there is one thing I know how to do, it’s to funnel magic away,” she said positively, which wasn’t exactly a good thing.

Kyungsoo presses his lips together as he scanned Hayan’s face for any regret for what they were about to do, and there was plenty there, but what made Kyungsoo go along with her plan was the strong determination that rolled off her. She was scared, but ready to try this more than Kyungsoo was.

“What are you two—,” Sehun began, but was cut off when Kyungsoo started the spell.

His words were muttered under his breath as his gaze slipped from Hayan in front of him and to the other side of the canyon over her shoulder. His grip tightened on her shoulder as the magic flowed through him and the ground began shaking as the land bridge slowly began t