ORIGIN

She knew what she could do now, and although she hadn't quite grasped any more than the spell's basics, she was getting there. Practice makes perfect; and that was what she was doing right now. The wolf had wanted something beautiful to the eye and fear-inducing to the weak of heart. Something of splendour and elegance equal to her own. And she'd found it, in the crystals of Origin Cave.

Sharp as a knife and yet often beautiful, Kin-Kin hoped to one day put even the naturally-formed crystals in the caverns to shame. Combined with her dancing lights, who knows what wonders she'd one day be able to create?

Kin-Kin marveled at the vivid daydreams with a smirk patterning her fine, gilded features.

For the first time in a while, the she-wolf had something new to train for. In the very centre of Polaris with glowing crystals jeering all around, Kin-Kin remembered again that she was the magickal champion of Origin caves, and that this was going to be the next thing to blow everyone else away.

True, she'd only managed once, but no-one else was going to know that... now, were they?

Settling down on her haunches, Kin-Kin dropped her head to her chest and focused on her gem. she tapped into the magic held within as a gentle glow spread throughout her like wind washing over a field of wheat.

Although this soft glow swept over her, there was nothing else. The ground didn't twitch or tremble, and there wasn't the gleam of quartz in sight. Kin-Kin sighed, trying not to seem disappointed. It would seem she was back at square one...

---

Kin-Kin's ears slowly pricked, and she opened her eyes as the sound of a voice broke through the formerly serene atmosphere. The lady blinked her eyes slowly, before resting wholly on them with a half-lidded gaze full of mirth. Impressed? By that alone?

By the looks of it, they were only a pup. She was probably a hero in their eyes.

At that thought, Kin-Kin couldn't help but let out a cheeky giggle. "Hmph! That's only a warmup, for me," she assured them, shrugging her shoulders so that her cape fell down around her sides. Not too far from the truth, but she hadn't been trying to glow. What a first sight a crystal forming right in front of them would have been! But alas, she wasn't quite well versed enough to reliably do something like that. But by the tone of voice and the look in their eye, she alone was phenomenal enough! "Hah... You haven't seen the half of me yet, kid!"

she spoke the words coolly and casually, examining the claws on one of her paws. The vanity dripping from her gestures was so thick it was almost tangible.

"Oh? You were there, huh?" That was an interesting tidbit. She wondered what they thought. Had they been truly blown away? What was she thinking? Of course they had. The wolf only seemed to be making herself worse as time went on.

"You lookin' for me to teach you some moves, kid?"

Kin-Kin wrapped her tail around her forepaws, bejeweled chest puffed out, and winked, eyeing them closely. For a child, they sure had an odd tone about them. But even still, the wolf felt it'd be best to play things by ear... whether adoring fan or child genius, she could handle any of it. But if they were flirting with her, well... that was another question entirely.

The mischievous wolf did so love to play.

---

Kin-Kin shifted her paws, her gaze light and airy, lingering on a target for moments alone before moving onto the next, and only after a while of deeply contemplated thinking did she finally rest her gaze on the pup. What to do first. Start with the basics, or go right for the applaud? They seemed easily impressed, so perhaps the basics would do the trick for now. "Of course!" the she-wolf pretended to be surprised as they confirmed they wanted to see more, grinning and sucking in her breath as she rose to her paws. The initial, unintentional glow from her failed spell was finally draining, leaving her fur 'plain' and gold.

The little one continued on, and with this Kin-Kin had forged a pretty good first impression. She had made a fan! How wonderful, cute, and very... unexpected. Truthfully. Kin-Kin's once-feigned vanity was evolving and inflating into something far more dramatic.

"Heh heh! Well, lucky for you, I've been working on a little something for my next show," she told them. And well, it wasn't a lie? Although she wasn't quite after the ladies this time. She was after something a little less frivolous. "Care to see?"

Even if they didn't respond, Kin-Kin wasn't about to wait.

They were surrounded by glowing crystals; to Kin-Kin, that seemed like the perfect opportunity to show off something a little different. She thought deeply about her next words. "Hmmm... well, your magic might be different to mine, but the principles are the same. If you feel like you can do it, then you can. That's what I'm trying to master." Again, her chest puffed out, and she stood tall.
"With magic, I can do anything...!"

She grinned as she spotted their enthusiasm rising; this was exactly where she wanted them. Although she had to stop to consider for a second. What was she going to teach them? Maybe just something general. You can do anything when you think about it, sorta thing. That's what had happened with the crystals the first time.

"Well," she began, still silently pondering. "I think the best thing to do would be to focus on things just outside of what you already know. And then, you start to think about other things. You form new ideas in your mind. What sorta tricks do you have up your sleeve already? And then we can work on that."

That gave her an idea. Kin-Kin looked around at the glowing crystals.

"See, my magic is all about light." She gently began to reach into the gem on her chest. "But..."

She breathed deeply and softly, closing her eyes as the crystalline light was seemingly sucked out of the world around her. This left Kin-Kin shrouded in shadow, with only the faintest rustle of her cape audible in the dark.

"When there's such a thing as light, you gotta have darkness too. Right?"

---

Kin-Kin thought about what the puppy was saying. She decided to agree with them despite having never seen the 'wind' element before. No doubt she'd end up with a demonstration anyway. It was a gambit she wasn't worried about losing either way. It was a good thing the she-wolf knew what wind was. It was what made Monoceros howl, and what made it a fun place to train. "Hmmmm. Wind sounds like it'd make things a lotta fun," she said curiously, imagining running with the wind at her back, growing faster and faster and faster as time went on... Kin-Kin liked that thought.

Her lips twitched into a wry smile beneath the cover of the shadows she had enveloped herself in. She might have bowed, but in this darkness she doubted they would have seen her anyway. Still, it wasn't long before she shrugged off the shadows with a shake of her body from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail. Like water off a duck's back, she was golden again and ready to receive her applause. Then, and only then, did Kin-Kin bow, stretching out her forelegs with her chin still held high. "Why thank you!" she cooed graciously, wagging her tail. "As you'll have seen in the magicka competition, that isn't even half of what I can do!"

The she-wolf listened patiently as they decided that next, they would demonstrate their own abilities. They didn't seem to have much confidence in themselves though... perhaps she simply had that effect on others, eh? Her ears perked and eyes bright with interest, Kin-Kin agreed, settling back on her haunches in order to watch them better. "Now, now! No need to be so humble," she laughed in response to their words.

No sooner had she done so that they took off- racing around the area they were in before finally leaping atop a small rock like a pedestal. Hah! Nice touch! Kin-Kin wagged her tail encouragingly, a wolfish grin on her face. "Bravo, bravo!" she cheered, stamping each paw against the ground in turn. "Nothing special? Hah, it's not the spell that's special, kid, it's the caster. I'm living proof of that."

---

Kin-Kin wasn't about to protest the pup basking in her glory. Their smile brought a warm feeling to her egotistical heart and a smirk brightened her face as a result. "I'll bet you will!" she cooed. "After all, not many pups have that kinda mastery of a spell. Not so soon, anyhow." Regardless of whether or not she knew the pup's exact age, Kin-Kin was quite enjoying raising their own esteem through the roof. No doubt such an action would come in handy later on. Also it meant that they'd revel in her greatness al the more. Which was the main point of this all, wasn't it? To an extent at least. Kin-Kin reminded herself of the practicalities.

Ugh... logic is no fun.

Undeniably, the wolf was better focused on making this life worthwhile than working out what would come next. She didn't live in the future or cling to the past; all that existed to Kin-Kin was now. And by the Caves, she would make every moment worthwhile.

"That sounds like a good idea to me," the gilded lady told the pup. "Of another elements, then? " Kin-Kin pretended to consider deeply. Of course, Kin-Kin did have knowledge in that area. Limited knowledge, but knowledge nontheless. She'd summoned a crystal, with great difficulty, and had been trying to hone her skill in that area.

Still, the she-wolf wasn't about to let on that she found it difficult.

"Well, kid! The same principle applies. Just get an idea, know you can do it, and then... do it." Kin-Kin took a deep breath. "I can show you. But I'll need some time." Kin-Kin knew what she could do. She knew that she could do it.

Quietly, Kin-Kin sat back on her haunches, her ears pricked forward and her eyes focused. In her pride, she was determined to impress. Light was nothing compared to this.

C'mon, c'mon. Strength, don't fail me now.

She tried to open the floodgates held within her gem... and as expected, she felt a rush of power flooding over her. Her fur lit up in a bright glow, and yet something was wrong. Exhaustion swept over her in a rush, and she had to fight to stay upright. It was lucky she did, as a sudden pain shot through her belly, causing the wolf to jolt backwards with a snarling yelp. As she did so, a crystal spire grew out from the ground, its pointed tip coated with blood.

Kin-Kin slumped down onto the earth, her eyes round with shock and her fur heating up with embarrassment. Laden with exhaustion more than anything, it was out of sheer luck that the crystal hadn't bit too deep before she'd moved. Still, it was enough that it'd probably scar, and would definitely leave a mark on the puppy.

"L-like I said... I... I'm still w-workin'... on it... Heh... heh..."

Her limbs leaden with barely the strength to hold her upright, Kin-Kin bent down to lick away at the blood.

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