TRACK 129 | MAKE UP by Ariana Grande

“So, since I control water, I don’t repel water to walk on water,” Suho said. “I just pool enough water on my soles strong enough to carry my weight.” Suho slowly stepped on the water, and he began walking like it was made of concrete.

“Goddamn...” Rara said in amazement. “Just like Jesus, huh?”

Suho chuckled at her comment. “You really know how to build up the moment, huh?”

“So how do I do it? I’ll release purple fire from my soles, just enough for them to act like water-repellent shoes on water?”

“That’s the plan.”

Rara stared at the water then back at Suho. “Call me a coward, but I’m kind of scared...what if I suddenly lose concentration and fall into the water? Saltwater’s a little bit more destructive than normal water.” She explained. “It’s harder to create flames against the water with salt concentration.”

“But haven’t you been practicing while drenched in saltwater?” Suho was sometimes there when she practiced and her hair and clothes were always dripping wet when he arrived.

“Well, I drench myself once and come back to the shore. Then I’ll start trying to muster orange fire. Then blue, and so on and so forth.” She said. “I mean, it’s different if I suddenly fall into the depths of water out of nowhere, assuming I can walk to where you are right now.” She tilted her head a little and tried to peek at the depth of the water Suho was standing in, even though they were ten feet away from each other, with her standing on the shore and Suho and the water. “I bet you’re standing on really deep water.”

Suho crossed his arms and said, “That’s why I’m here.” He smiled. “I’ll make sure you don’t plunge into the water.”

Rara pondered for a while and narrowed her eyes at him. “How am I supposed to know I’m the one making myself walk on the waters and not you?”

“Hold my arm while you’re at it.” Suho said as he walked back to the shore. “That way, I can guide you. Also, you’ll know if you’re doing it right because you’re supposed to walk with ease. If your feet are not above water, then the fire you’re producing is probably not strong enough.”

“Okay.” Rara inhaled deeply. “Let’s have a go at Round 1.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Suho!” Rara panicked as she gripped his arm tightly. They were facing each other. She stared at her feet that were sinking deeper by the second. Now the water was up to her ankles. She stared at the depth of the water and it was probably about seven feet deep. “A little help?!” Suho laughed lightly as he held her arm securely, concentrating water on her feet to elevate her on the same level as he is. “Concentrate, Rara. Stop panicking. It’s just the same earlier, only that we’re standing in deeper waters.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.” She retorted. “I mean, I was okay with falling into five feet deep water but more than that...it’s scaring the out of me.”

“Just look at something else then. Stop looking at your feet.” Suho said. Rara faced him intently, one hand still clinging to his arm. “Just imagine you’re painting.”

Rara took a deep breath. “Okay.” She said under her breath. She felt her fire becoming more and more concentrated on the soles of her feet. Her clutch on Suho’s arm slowly became loose, until she wasn’t holding him for support anymore. Her eyes never left Suho’s, and the longer they were standing there, just facing each other, the more Rara felt overwhelmed by this achievement. Suho stole a glance at her feet and then back at her. He grinned, seeing the purple fire beneath her soles. He looked at her with a sincere smile, touched her arm, and said, “You’re doing well.” He complimented.

Rara beamed. “You bet I am.”

What the hell are you doing hyung?

Suho blinked in surprise as he heard Baekhyun’s voice in his head. His head turned to the shore quickly, and he spotted a familiar figure fifteen feet away. “Baekhyun?” He muttered under his breath. Realizing what this whole scene had looked like to him, he swiftly unclasped his touch from Rara. Aghast from Suho’s sudden retraction, Rara also looked at where he was looking. They were a little bit far from Baekhyun, but they could see he was angry.

It’s not what you think, Baekhyun. Suho pressed, replying telepathically.

Yeah, that’s what Rara says too. He snapped. He turned around and as his feet picked up the pace, he shapeshifted into a wolf, running back to the forest.

When Rara came to her senses and realized how bad this must have looked to Baekhyun, a lot of emotions started to surge inside of her. For a second, she stared at Baekhyun, who turned into a wolf, becoming smaller and smaller, running back to the forest, then she did the same, she started running back to the shore, too.

She kept her fire concentrated on her feet for a while, until she took that one step that sent not only her feet, but also her entire body plunging into the water.

Suho, who was about five feet away from where Rara fell, saw everything unfold in slow motion. He wasted a few seconds watching her disappear above water before he could run to where she fell and take her out of the water. He arrived just in time to catch her arm before she fell deeper. When he pulled her up, she mumbled a brief apology and wasted no time concentrating fire on the soles of her feet and tried to run again. Suho knew that with that direct fall on the water, her strength was weakened but he let her go anyway, letting her run not with fire in her soles, but with his assistance. Rara didn’t notice her fire disappearing from her feet with the blood rushing into her ears because of thinking what an enormous fight with Baekhyun this could be, so Suho took the chance to have the water’s exterior feel like concrete when Rara stepped on it.

Knowing Baekhyun was in wolf form, Rara tried to talk to him telepathically while running around the forest at superhuman speed.

Baekhyun? Where are you? Rara couldn’t pinpoint his exact location because he was moving at a very fast rate. It’s as if he switched places every time she blinked.

So this is why you keep me out of your practice sessions all the time? He growled in her head. Do you practice every affectionate thing with Suho hyung first before you do it with me?

What the hell are you talking about? That’s so ridiculous Baekhyun! Where are you? Can we please just talk?

We don’t need to talk because the way Suho hyung looked at you and touched your arm, the way you smiled at him in return, did all the talking for me! You just had to pull my strings for, like, seven ing decades! I wish you’d hurt me earlier, Rara, so I would have left earlier and healed my wounds earlier!

There were tears in Rara’s eyes as she heard these angry words echoing inside her head; her pace started slowing down. Those were hurtful words. She brought her hands to her knees, breathing in and out, trying to calm herself. Before she could start to sob, she heard a different cry from a distance. 6 o’clock from her location, about 10 meters away. It was from a human child. Rara felt that it was urgent, so she zigzagged her way through the forest, temporarily forgetting the pain Baekhyun’s words caused her. She hid from a huge tree and saw that there was a little girl crying. There were flowers on the ground, just beside her. She must have picked them all over the forest.

Rara became conscious, as she was still wet from the beach. But the child must have been lost. Rara wiped her face clean and cautiously approached her.

“Hey, are those flowers yours?” She asked as nicely as possible.

The girl stopped sobbing and nodded slowly, still with tears in her eyes. “Yes, miss. But I’ve lost my way while picking them. Can you please help me go back to my mom?” She asked, her voice cracking again.

Rara crouched down and picked up the flowers and offered the girl to carry them. “Here. Take them. We’ll find your mom, I promise.” The girl nodded her head obediently. “It’s dangerous out here.” Rara warned. Like any child, the girl ignored her remark and just looked at Rara intently and examined one strand of her hair. Then she looked at her clothes. “Why are you we—”

A sudden instinct suddenly told Rara to pull the girl closer. “Shh.” Rara whispered. “I need you to stay quiet for a while, okay?” She was sensing something.

Something sinister.

Something vile.

And someone like her—a vampire.

The girl was secure in her arms and while Rara looked around her eyes started turning red. The girl gasped lightly as Rara’s eyes changed into a different color, but she kept shut, nonetheless.

“How unfortunate.” A female voice said. “Just when I thought I could have my snack, someone else steals it—and not just a nobody vampire steals it, but an Idia.” It said. Her voice was like a snake, hissing. “And what do you know, it’s the sole Idia of the Ignis clan.”

“Show yourself, stranger.” Rara challenged, as her arms tightly wrapped around the girl’s shoulders. “You know very well that the Aima Lamia has severely stressed that we shall not make spectacles of ourselves.”

“The council did not forbid us from feasting on human children, though.” Rara’s breath hitched, realizing that the voice was just at her back, dangerously close to her ear. She saw the intruder extending her an arm, reaching for the little girl, and said, “So I’ll be taking her and you can leave no—”

Rara raised an arm quickly, jabbed the vampire with her elbow, and sent her knuckles straight to the intruder’s face with brute force. After she heard the vampire colliding with a tree, Rara jumped, the girl in her arms, and steadied herself on the ground. Rara stared at the long-haired female vampire who was writhing in pain, massaging her temples and the bridge of her nose. Her attention shifted to the girl. “Uh, what’s your name again?” Rara asked urgently.

“Kyung Mi.”

“Kyung Mi. Right. Um, I’m sorry, you’ve become a bit wet as well,” Rara said, as she noticed that the girl’s dress became damp as she brought her closer when she jumped in the direction opposite to their opponent. “But anyway, you have to hold on to those flowers tight and hold on to me tighter.” Rara ordered. “Whatever happens, don’t lose your grip. Trust me.”

Kyung Mi nodded, and wrapped her arms around Rara’s shoulders tight like she was holding onto her life.

The vampire stood up—she was beautiful. Tall and slender. Like a model straight out of a magazine. Somehow, she was strikingly familiar.

Then it hit her.

Bile rose to Rara’s throat, as it dawned on her who this person was. No wonder she knew that Rara was the only remaining Idia in the fire clan. This vampire standing before her had her face in caricature, along with the news that Jaehyun died. This was the one who killed her great grandfather.

One arm supported Kyung Mi, all her weight under Rara’s arm. She wasn’t heavy, but she’d be a burden during combat. But the kid couldn’t be left alone. If this vampire murdered Jaehyun, she could very well kill Rara as well. With her fresh out of saltwater and Kyung Mi’s being around, she was at a disadvantage right now. Her hands were still trying to drain the water, trying to dry her palms. She was like a lighter that needed to be clicked a few times before a flicker of fire could appear. She dreamed of this moment over and over, killing the person who murdered her great grandfather, but not like this.

But this was all or nothing.

“You...” Rara hissed. “I don’t know what made you kill my great grandfather but seeing you want to snack on an innocent human girl makes me think you’re rotten to the bone.” She said with so much distas