This prompt heavily inspired Mika's hidden power, as I expected in a previous post from this subreddit. Here is the link to that post for those who haven't seen it yet: https://old.reddit.com/r/TwistedWonderland/comments/xh3krc/do_you_have_twst_ocs_if_you_do_who_are_they_and/

Link to original post: https://old.reddit.com/r/TwistedWonderland/comments/xe5lzy/twstober_prompt/

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Mika was proud of herself for improving her signature spell. With help from Malleus and Lilia, she was able to control when she was able to transform into her Musculus form whenever she wanted without using much of her energy or gaining too much blot. However, if there was one thing that she still needed to learn, it was how to not let her spell affect her when she was feeling any negative emotions.

It wasn’t an easy feat, especially when she had other responsibilities to take care of, which consisted of the following:

Making sure Grim stayed out of trouble, which was a task in its own right.

Finishing her homework on time, which on a good day was not much of an obstacle.

Balancing her minimal allowance, which was entirely affected by the Headmage’s mood of the week.

Unfortunately, that week just turned out to be the week when the Headmage was the least generous. Mika’s allowance was cut in half in comparison to her usual wage. How am I going to survive a week on this? she angrily thought.

She felt her blood boiling in her veins. While others would use that phrase metaphorically, Mika feeling her own blood heat up was a sign for trouble. The moment she felt it, she shrieked in horror and held her wrists, telling herself to stop feeling it. If she let her blood run wild, she was going to unwillingly change into her monster form. The more she thought about that, the more she began to remember the very first time that form made itself known to her Night Raven College cohorts. She began to remember Ace, Deuce, Malleus, Lilia, Grim, and most importantly, Jack’s faces when it first happened. She recalled the words that Ace used to describe the event: “Like the hero was witnessing the final beast of the quest about to destroy the world.” Mika refused to let that image remain in everyone’s memory, especially hers.

The feat of stopping herself from unwillingly transforming was the most difficult task of all. The pain of stopping a body alternation was as painful as getting stabbed with a knife as deep as the penetrator could reach. It was so hurtful that Mika couldn’t hold in her screaming, and when Mika screamed, Grim nor the Ramshackle ghosts were going to sit there and leave her be. It was either call Jack or let all hell break loose.

“Alright, everyone. That’s it for expectations. Commence Spelldrive practice!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

Housewarden Jack Howl watched the rest of the Savanaclaw dorm run to the practice field to start the game. Standing right next to him, making sure that everything was going to go smoothly was the Spelldrive captain, Ruggie Bucchi. So far, everything was going smoothly. No one was fighting or cheating. It was the bare minimum for Savanaclaw, but it was all Jack could ask for.

“Housewarden Jack! Captain Ruggie!” one of the Spelldrive players screamed at the top of his lungs.

The two jumped at the sound, but eased as the Savanaclaw student came running.

“There’s a ghost in the Colosseum!”

“A ghost?” exclaimed Ruggie.

Out of thin air, Tallzy fazed into the area, feeling faint after coming from so far. The Savanaclaw student screamed again. “Mr. Howl, thank the Seven I found you here! We got an emergency on our hands!”

“What emergency?” asked Jack, his voice trembling.

“Code Scarlet! That’s what emergency, sir!”

Back at Ramshackle, though Mika had continued to manage to not cause destruction to herself or the entire house she, Grim, and the ghosts lived in, the pain did not stop from attacking her veins. She had her room a wreck in the process of halting the transformation, but if she couldn’t find a way to forget the emotion that was taking over her, disaster would come otherwise. She screamed and cried, causing the house to shake.

Grim had the bright idea to run outside to avoid getting crushed by the rattling bookcase or squashed by chairs or couches that would tip over. Still, he feared for Mika’s safety to the upteenth degree. Just as he thought hope was lost, a ghostly light fazed into the Shamshakle yard. He cried out of relief as he explained that Mika was going to hurt herself if she didn’t get the help she needed.

Inside the house, Mika began slamming into the wall. It did not calm the sensation or the girl. She had been suffering for a bad half hour, and there was no sign of stopping. Was she going to give up and give into the Musculus inside of her? No! she yelled to herself. I can’t do this again! I can’t put my friends in danger again! She kept reminding herself of the terrible evening, but that only made her pain grow. So did her tears on top of that. Why am I the one cursed with the worst signature spell in the entire Twisted Wonderland? Why me? WHY ME?

In the midst of her mental screaming, a warm sensation brushed over her like a blanket on a cold winter night. The sudden change in air temperature shocked her, but that shock made her forget what she was even mad about. The blood rushing in her body cooled, easing the burning pain in her veins. The warmth was familiar. The warmth was safe. The warmth had more love than anything she ever felt. The warmth made the pain vanish into thin air. At the same time, this warmth brought her shame. Mika knew that if this warmth was her only way to stop the transformation from happening, she was a lost cause.

She had passed out from fatigue. She couldn’t remember passing out, but that must’ve been what happened when she woke up in her nice, soft bed. The moonlight flickered through the closed blinds. Her room was a complete wreck. She did remember causing it. Her lips trembled at the sight. She ripped the bedsheets over her head and began to cry. What a disgrace I am, she thought.

A hand snuck under the sheets and smoothed her frazzled hair. “Come out, beautiful…”

Jack’s voice was music to Mika’s ears. However, embarrassed, she slowly poked her head into sight. Her body shivered, but he continued to soothe her by petting her hair and face. “I didn’t know you were still here.”

“I had no plans to leave you tonight. You are in no position to be alone.”

Mika felt her eyes water.

Jack laid himself down next to her, brushing her messy hair straight with his fingers. “I’m not mad at you. These things are not easy, and though I can’t exactly relate, I don’t blame you.” He kissed her forehead gently. “You need rest. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“But the mess.”

“We’ll figure it out in the morning. You’re too tired to be doing any of the heavy lifting tonight.”

“But…”

Jack squeezed Mika as if she were his teddy bear. “Don’t think. Just sleep,” he cooed.

She stuffed her face into his chest, breathing heavily to release the fear that she still contained throughout her body. However, when Jack brushed her hair once more, Mika eased again. She had much more work to do, but as long as she had Jack, she remembered that she wasn’t alone in this journey to overcome the Musculus within her.