ORIGIN

Magic... magic... magic... Binh had to get better at it.

Ideas were swarming through his head, visions of a delightful future right on his mind. But first, he had to get better at his water-ability. That slip-up with the puddle was... embarrassing, to say the least, but he would rise above it. He'll tame this crazy ability, no matter how much it took.

The cobra was curled up in the rainforest, same as he had since he was born. Long body coiled around a tree, head resting against his side, dappled cave-light across his scales. Birds called, tantalizing, though he resisted the urge to go off and hunt. Instead, he was focused on the small pond in front of him. It was murky and stale, and probably not the most ideal location to work, but it was alright. Not like he could just get up and find a different one within the day.

Binh dipped his head as far as it would go. If he had eyelids, he would've closed his eyes. Instead, he just tried to unfocus himself and focus on the water. Water. Liquid. H2O. This was how magic worked, right?

It turns out that wasn't how magic worked. Nothing came up in his vision, or happened to the water, or anything. He just looked a bit dumb staring into the void.

He didn't really know what he was expecting. If he thought about nothing, of course nothing would happen! This time, he needed to actually focus on what he wanted to do. Binh didn't just want to practice the same stuff he knew since childhood, no. He wanted to expand upon it, to learn something new. And what better way to learn than to try, right?

Binh remembered vaguely that time in Fornax, all those cycles ago, where someone detected another with nothing but magic. Perhaps he could try that, but with fluid? The serpent slowly turned his body until his unmoving head was faced away from the pond. He then called upon his magic, his stone nestled around his throat, and meditated on the imagery of the lake in front of him. 'Please.'

Binh's senses dimmed slightly, shifting to accommodate a new sensation. And then, like a blooming flower, the feeling of water itself flowed outward from his mind. Not only could he sense the pond ahead of him, but all the streams and rivers throughout the cave, every drop of water on a leaf and every molecule of mist. It wasn't just like he was seeing it, but experiencing it, as if his mind was one with the rivers. How poetic.

Now this was cool.

Let's try something he was a bit more used to, hm? All that water was making him thirsty.

After spending a few more minutes to recollect himself, Binh leaned back onto the trees, facing the murky pond. He'd known this particular spell since he was a hatchling, and it saved his hide numerous times. You know, when you're a tiny baby with a stone as large as you are as well as a broken neck, it can be hard to find water. Now he was older and more capable, so he didn't have to rely on it as often. Still, it was nice to practice.

He faced the rippling waters head-on this time, and tried to conjure the image of it flowing towards him and into his body. The moisture around him dimmed the slightest, and then he felt the refreshing sensation of hydration. That was nice.

A few more tricks for the slow, water circus, and he'd feel content with himself.

Silvery eyes peering right into the pond, Binh pondered what he should practice next. Something tried-and-true, or attempting the hardest spells once more? Well, one thing he always turned to were bubbles. Look, they're fun! And a good practice in water-shape-forming-stuff! Plus, he had to use all that extra hydration somewhere.

The cobra rolled his mouth open and burped out a couple, small saliva-bubbles. Gross, but the way they floated past his coal head was hypnotizing.

One final act, just to seal the day off. Binh's head was getting heavy, and the way the cave-clouds wisped around the lights was making him sleepy. And what better way to end than his best spell? Sure, he was pretty bad at it, but if he kept hacking away he'd get better!

A dark tail swiped across the water, letting drops fall onto the grass as the mirroring surface rippled. Once it stilled again, he focused his vision and thought. Thought of something he could easily bring to mind on the water. Up ahead, skimming the underbrush, was a fairyfly. Perfect. Binh's gaze fell back down, and he imagined the lesser rippling across the surface of the water. From there, he just let magic do it's job.

And it seemed magic was a tired, minimum-wage cashier because they were on strike. For a split second the water's surface seemed to shift, but then it anticlimactically fell back to sloshing. What a bummer.

Well, Binh wasn't just going to call it quits, was he? No, he was going to keep on trying until he got it right again.

One eye on the butterfly, another on the water, Binh leaned in close to the pond's surface. Deep breath in, deep breath out. If he kept a steady focus, maybe it would come into being.

But, yet again, there was nothing.

Deep breaths. He was Binh, the snake-in-the-woods, and he was going to figure this out again sooner or later.

The cobra let his mind wander into experimental territory. Imagining the water as not his subject to impart magic onto, but like an extension of himself. A force he was apart of, a power imbued into his very stone. Water was gentle, and fluid. It slithered between rocks like a snake, but crashed into shores like a bear. It could bring life, or end it. When a gembound is born, they are surrounded by water. When they died, they returned to water. Truly it was the most powerful force in the caves: it was balance.

Cycles of isolation have really turned him into a philosopher, huh?

Regardless, Binh now hovered over the water with a gentle tranquility. He tried to pull up the magic around his throat once more, and summon it forward.

And finally, finally, it worked. The surface rippled at his beckoning, and a blurry, distorted butterfly appeared on it's surface. It was beautiful, a wondrous reflection he created. Content, and tired from his magical and physical exertion, the snake settled himself down against the banks and quickly fell into slumber. He needed a nap.