ORIGIN

For all that he had grown fonder of his second watery home over the cycles, certain areas of Cetus continued to demand more grudging tolerance than others. While mutated tail fins and his natural predisposition to semi-aquatic life made navigating its dark waters and catching fish a cinch, especially in warm weather which drove him here over his frigid native Pisces, the pervasive mud of the marshland remained a burden when daring to wander the cave. Fortunately unusual escapades did have their purpose beyond confounding him with new, distressing alterations of his body: sometimes they granted power to use for great benefit. After having witnessed Imp's much deserving of respect father fly on magic-crafted wings, sporting wicked horns conveying his might, Fahl could at last proudly declare ownership of a similar method of transport. Feathers formed of pure white light had borne him above the muck and settled the iguana in a damp area hosting surfaces most suitable for certain activities to practice.

Seeing as he'd been neglectful of magic outside of fire's comforting heat, an oversight that had kept him from learning about specific talents likely to help the Children in due time, it seemed testing out other possibly helpful magics ought to be worth his limited patience. The Blacksmith's lesson on casting light onto walls had been informative but rudimentary, not at all covering the extent to which the ability could be stretched. His task was determining whether it could merely serve as cheerful decoration or be elevated to better utility.

Surrounded by plenty of rock to experiment upon, claws scrabbling off of them echoed just as well as muttered swears. Some of his first attempts at sincere communication as a hatchling containing expletives like "shit," it came as no surprise that both of these were readily heard from Fahl now as he pressed paws against yet another ridge to imbue it with an image more complex than glowing red zigzags or teal polka dots.

"Come on. Just this once," he rumbled, voice somewhat muffled by the stone eternally stuck in his tongue. The reliable experience of a master mage reached for a sensation only able to be described as a gentle bubbling beneath scales and forced it toward the outside world.

A massive mural of arrows pointed up at the ceiling. Every one radiated an attention-grabbing pale yellow that stood out well against the dreary grey background they bled into existence on. The action, for all intents and purposes, was a success, yet a distressed huff greeted the results instead.

"Well, of all the pissing luck."

This much signage was excessive in the extreme.

Besides the many rocks available to provide their surfaces as canvases, this part of Cetus had a certain amount of seclusion Fahl preferred when messing around with an endeavor such as this, slightly more artistic than the usual magic testing. It saved him from the embarrassment of multiple failures on display; unlike certain Gembounds he knew, converting disasters to triumphs had never been his strong suit. He'd rather make himself scarce on those occasions, the yawning void left by his disappearance hopefully enough to swallow any unfortunate memories of him as well. That considered, to say another voice entering his internal monologue was a surprise would be a tragic understatement.

Consumed in his project, at first the chirp was barely registered as belonging to anyone else. It slid into his thought process neatly, as if it'd always lived there, never mind the youthful ring it possessed. He answered it with a distracted, "Yes, that's good. But it's just too much," then paused as the continuing chatter finally registered as another presence. Slowly he pried paws away from the ridge. A gradual blink absorbed what his hearing had picked up on.

When was the last time he'd ever sounded like that? Cycles ago maybe. He'd since traded squeaks and yelps for a persistent rasp resulting from a seared throat rarely allowed to fully heal. Much as the current voice irritated him, the previous was no better, so he'd long since settled for grudging acceptance of his fate.

An exaggerated turn revealed his observer, and a momentary bout of ridiculousness wondered if the individual comfortably seated and peering at the arrow-decorated wall through wide eyes gleaming with delight was that one child Lorelei, undergone severe mutations of her own and here to show off all the water magic she'd learned since their encounter in Pisces. It was a misconception easily dispelled once common sense argued back at him. Surely she would have aged beyond puphood by now unless her kind grew at a glacial pace. This was someone else, a new face entirely.

Perhaps even brand new? Unless proven otherwise, that would be the approach he'd choose: keep things short and simple for developing brains. Honestly, for all the advancement made, there were times he almost wished adults were as willing to accept brief responses. Too often he found himself trying his and everyone else's patience as words struggled to squirm past his tongue during a lengthy explanation.

"Ah, everyone can turn rocks yellow. But not always this way," he said. "Using magic's hard. This type I had to be shown before I could add colors to anything. Paint is not as fast, but it's easier.

"And, he added, squinting accusingly at the mural, "you can do a lot more too. It's more... creative."

Compared to what he'd achieved so far, painting certainly seemed more free-form. He doubted Imp would have been very impressed by these uniform patterns; knowing his tastes, the batgator would've gladly drawn a kraken composed completely of phalluses if only Fahl described the dreadful behemoth of the Black City to him in explicit detail.

It would seem that today was designated a day for firsts. Bioluminescence might not have been a fresh concept for him to grasp, but nevertheless glowing gills took Fahl aback. In an unintentional mimic, while he watched the strange soft-bodied creature pull a face, his hue-shifting scales briefly flashed mystified violet slashes across his hide. They returned to their default black once the other made a declaration of their magic's decidedly colorless nature, in conjunction with a possible understanding of what he had witnessed.

Was that small display tied to their magic? Or had it merely been a reaction to an emotion as they failed to conjure a spectacle of their own like an explosion of light or a shimmering rainbow similar to the water droplets suspended in the air?

The answer not really forthcoming based on observation alone and no strong obsession driving an urge to discover the true reason, a shrug of shoulders brushed off the unusual sight for the most part. He tapped a claw against the yellow arrows and flatly stated, "Most don't. That's why this is special."

A shake of the head turned out to be accompanied by a far from ideal response to the possibility of doing a proper painting of anything, much less stones. "Paint needs something called pigments," he said, recalling an old art lesson. "Whatever color you want... you have to first find something that has it. Then grind it up and mix it with water. Not too hard, but I don't have any with me."

"Here isn't the most colorful of places. Your stone..." As he mentioned this, his head tilted to gain a better view of where the aforementioned was lodged. "It might be difficult to find anything that fits here."

Most of Cetus had a bit too much gloom and not enough shine. The plant life tended to follow suit. But maybe they would luck out and discover a cluster of vibrant flowers out in the vast drench of the swamp. Anyway, at least he could demonstrate to Mocha what color he perceived their stone to be. It could serve as a reference point should they be so intent on its depiction.

A surge of magic coursed down to one paw which Fahl set against a blank space apart from the last large mural. Like a fleet of soldiers gathered on the lines of a battlefield, red triangles bloomed. Their shade matched that of fresh blood; they appeared almost to pulsate, so perfect was the rendition, as if the pumping of an unseen heart drove a supply of it to the surface of the rock.

"There's some orange? Or gold too," the iguana added. "But most is this color. I can't make the shape right without paint."

"Yes, better." Fahl nodded, the questions asked of him allowing some more words to be spared on the topic of ideal locations for paint materials. "Most shouldn't be too far away from here in fact." Of course, when he said this, the distance a freshly hatched Gembound could cover was not taken into account. Instead the assessment was determined primarily by personal experience, the travel times for swimming, walking, or flying via magic reliant on a single iguana subject.

"Polaris especially has lots of color. With all those crystals and mosses it has, we're sure to find something that fits your stone. Eridanus is closer, but..." At the thought of the cave's current state which made foraging risky business, his face twisted into a pained grimace. "It's not very safe right now."

Not to mention he had no clue if mixing paint using fungus-tainted materials would have any detrimental effect on the artwork or artist involved. Better off avoiding experimentation with something that word of mouth claimed robbed others of their independence.

Mocha's admiration of his latest wall creation unsurprisingly led Fahl to lift his chin the slightest, throat scales flushed golden and prideful. Always a sponge for positive attention, even from a source who easily gave it, he absorbed the awed exclamations with eyes shut for a moment or two. Once he had his fill of conceit, the paw currently resting against the ridge fell away from the glowing triangles it'd summoned. He shrugged as if indifferent to the whole customary exchange of names initiated—mostly playing off the tension building in shoulders at sharing his half-baked moniker—and tugged on tail fins so they rested under claws, swamp muck carefully picked out of their voluminous folds.

"I'm Fahl," he said. "Like how water falls."

While an accurate observation to make about the pronunciation of his name, the introduction neglected to mention how this had no relation to its origin. Admitting that it was simply a blurt of random noise from when he'd been too young and limited in language to understand what names were mortified him too much to ever be considered.

How best to elaborate on Eridanus's issues? He kept the matter brief, not wishing to exhaust his tongue on mechanics he himself didn't know the full breadth of: "Parts of the place are coated in a... white substance. You won't think like yourself if you eat or breathe it in."

Regardless of what Mocha truly intended by his simple declaration, Fahl paused in grooming his tail once he processed what had been said. Ego swelled, a chest-deep rumble heralded a mutual sentiment although its basis was quite shallow. "Mocha..." He sounded out the two syllables, contemplative, before giving a head bob of approval. "A good name." A name he had little chance of mangling. "Hmmm. You know what, I like you too."

Almost as if its movement was controlled by a spring, his tail lashed behind him the instant paws released it. He strode away from the ridge until reaching a nearby trench where a trickling stream flowed over toes. "If you follow this, eventually you'll end up in open water. From there, you have to find the tunnel out of Cetus. It takes a while, and you can get easily lost in the mist doing so."

More than minor irritation saturated his voice as he mentioned this last bit, a gravelly growl recalling how despite growing familiarity with the cave, rather often he still found himself stumbling about dumbly through the swamp. At the very least, he'd gotten used to treating its Heart as the main landmark to navigate around which had somewhat lessened the struggle. A Gembound entirely clueless wouldn't even have that to help, a point that drove him into his next offer.

"This can be a confusing area, and once you reach the tunnel, there's more than one cave it goes to. Like Eridanus. Polaris you can identify by how it glows. If you want, I can guide you so no mistake is made. It'll be faster going with someone who knows the way."