ORIGIN

Time, as Fahl often regarded it, was a crawling nuisance. Without someone to encourage it along, that dimension would be content to hold its tongue on all matters and enact change in so minuscule a fashion that one would barely know of its occurrence. Dust could settle, stone could wear away, and yet the lives of Gembounds would lack any real difference in their goings-on. In the face of momentous decisions, humoring time's lazy attitude might seem the best approach compared to making a swift choice. Waiting, he knew, could bring moments of clarity otherwise unlikely to be discovered.

Here none were required.

"Then let there be something in place of nothing," came his responding declaration. "Allow me to be the Child to move the rest."

The only path forward that made sense to him, pause for reconsideration had no place in the current proceedings. Opportunity needed to be seized by the throat before it could slip away into the misty swampland and beyond reach. He set his jaw, head tilting upward, in preparation of whatever might come next—ready for a challenge in body if not necessarily in mind or magic.

"What we need," Fahl blurted out, "is strength. Power."

This lead-in statement built of simple enough words that his usual expression of thought had been remarkably unhindered compared to usual, the reaction following it from the speaker himself was the same as if he'd bitten his own tongue instead of managed to use it with any amount of proficiency. Eyes widened. Face and throat flashed a frightful white. Then the moment passed, the shock shaken away with a toss of his head. Clarification followed upon its downward arc back to a neutral position.

"I mean. It's not to say... we have none. But in order to stay... independent... of the Masters, we need to be sure all of us can take care of ourselves. And each other. The Children together," he said. "And for that we need to learn. Instruct. Gain an understanding of our capabilities so when we must act... it can be as one."

"The Masters can be an advantage for now while we remain in their good graces." He wouldn't dare tamper with such a thing when his own teacher was enjoying recognition and eyesight after so long. "I don't know how easily they can take away the powers they grant... but information... any they let slip would have value. Maybe help us for the time when only we can and they can't... or won't."

At this point, the iguana had to regain his breath, so these last two beats lingered. If he'd paused for too long, they might've come across as the dying final notes of his speech. Air sucked in with an audible hiss prevented this impression, and a hard swallow preceded him barreling onward to the true last portion of opinion he wished to share.

"I want to know what we can do together, so we can figure out what we might be able to do in the future. And improve upon it. Calling the Children would help greatly as a start, sir. It'd give us the beginnings of however many strategies might be possible in time."

After having shared his mind, when asked for an affirmative response, Fahl delivered a small but distinct nod. Speaking had taken its usual toll, the effort of moving his tongue for any decent length of time enough for exhaustion to seep in and weld his mouth shut. Nervous tension ensured his silence stayed so, an invisible wire wrapped tightly around jaws. Dragon's input was regarded with reptilian stoicism, offset only by the thoughtful back and forth flick of eyes—concern the closest possible word to identify it.

"Yes," he said once the final exhaled syllable faded away, "Where we stand. So our defense can be built on a good foundation. Not an uneven one."

And that was the crux of the matter for him, the basis of all thoughts previous. Much as the idea of eliminating a Master had its appeal as a show of power, never had it occurred to him as remotely within his capabilities, whether current or in the near future. Failure of the most gruesome kind was more certain of an outcome at present. Measuring up to their immense demonstration of magical might, although the ultimate goal, remained a secondary objective for now. More important was avoiding death long enough to have an infinitesimal chance of achieving those greater heights.

"Will you need any help? With the, uh, call."

If the impression he'd been given held true, the Children were quite well-dispersed throughout Cetus, a significant distance for any summons to travel.

"Imp..."

As no issue could be found with Dragon's proposal at this moment, there had been no force able to prevent Fahl from pivoting upon mention of the direction he might take to spread word of the Children. Feet inelegantly lurched through mud when he spun round. The accompanying sharp jerk of his head to capture the collection of jagged peaks indicated to him in the distance served to make the motion abrupt—imbalanced even, the halt immediately after the turn almost casting the iguana face-forward into the squelching earth. So consuming was the urgency of the matter which drove his limbs that the name of his friend and teacher gusted out almost as a whispered afterthought.

Or perhaps it'd been the main reason for his sudden stop: a leash holding him back from sprinting into action with nary a second thought spared to others.

"No," he said eventually after a contemplative breath or two, eyes squeezed shut against the final decision leaving him. "Let's leave him to his art. I trust you can catch him up later, sir."

After a forced hiatus from it, Imp deserved all the time in the world to spend on his painting. Much as he craved the presence of the rowdy batgator and his new eyes upon any magic that could be displayed, Fahl wouldn't dare to cut that experience short. Furthermore, it'd slow him down in the midst of an opportunity for his own self-improvement, surely an understandable object to pursue.

This was not the first time Dragon had acknowledged Fahl's connection to Imp, mentioned the positives that friendship had brought his son. To hear the statement again didn't diminish its value; arguably, it polished the words contained therein to a greater luster than before. In that brilliant shine lay hope and possibility: faith in the capabilities of the younger Gembound had not faltered and, with its continued existence, chances might still exist to raise whatever esteem his elder held him in. His current path would be one of these opportunities, and should things go well, plenty more would branch off from there.

"Ah, yes." Gold streaked across his throat like a flash of lightning, disappearing just as soon as one. "I—uh, thank you. Sir."

But as it stood in the present, the comment could only be taken as such: a comment, touched by praise though it was. Whether it promised any future depended upon whether he could accomplish the necessary groundwork to ensure so. Starting with the first step in this swampland which would propel him toward the Crags and whoever he might run into during the journey to there.

In the space offered, Fahl returned over his shoulder a well-wish. "Yes, I'll see you. And, fortune willing, all both of us can bring."

And then he too slipped into the water, aimed for a different destination. He did not cherish the travel ahead of him. Far from it—some features of Cetus had grown on him, yes, but the overall miserable experience of trudging through muck remained. The end goal was what stayed his course. Acceptance, growth, and gain.