A belief was not merely an idea the mind possessed. It was for too many in the world, an idea that possessed the mind. For the creature before little Mui, it was the idea that he was - is, a dragon. He described it as a creature with an affinity for fire, with scales, and a long tale. Muirine could not contend that this definition of a dragon was wrong, as she had no prior knowledge of it…But the way he went on about it. How he spoke of himself. It was borderline fanatic. Perhaps he merely thought very highly of himself, but still, it was to early to make such assumptions. Eyes of fire flickered like the flame between the new born and the bird, a hunger he could not quite hide and one that should have sent them both running…Yet both remained. For Mui it was curiosity, for Ambrus…Well, she couldn’t say what exactly was going through the birds mind. Then, as if to nail his point home, Dragon - both the name and thing, reared back in his watery seat. He screamed with a powerful might that Dragons were a number of hostile things and displayed this with a mighty use of his power over fire. From those great jaws shot the heat and light of a brilliant source right over the foxes head. Though she flinched, she knew also he had not intended to harm her and merely turned brown eyes upward to witness this wonder in awe. He was powerful. That, she could not deny. With his final roar of his self decree of being a dragon, Mui found herself nodding in understanding. ”That you are.” She spoke softly, a stark contrast to the alligators bellowing.

Then he asked a question of both herself and Ambrus. What were they? She had not the answer, but it gave her something to ponder before he quickly began his tale of what had happened here. A first hand account, passed on to those not alive to see it, yet it would be carried with her for as long as it had to be. Much like the scars that now littered the once beautiful room. First he began with a stag who wanted peace, and a one named Raheerah who had claimed the cave and made his perch upon a the gem spire, the one Mui could see standing above all else in the room and emitting a brilliant glow. The water dwelling creature went on to explain the stag as peace, law, and order, and wondered if either of them would be such. Curious was he to their character and the female could not begin to elude as to why that might be. All throughout his story, right up until the very end he asked of their natures, of they wanted to be when panic and destruction occurred. Was this to find his enemies and kill them before they became a threat? Peace, law, order. These things appealed to Muirine but were in direct confrontation with everything Dragon claimed to be. Would he kill her if she told him the truth? For one so young, she had an uncommon clarity of thinking through the observation of things and people around her. She had little to suggest the alligator intended her harm, but self preservation was ingrained to all…even if they did not wish to admit it. Ambrus did not seem so perplexed by this constant theme of Dragon’s gnawing at their personality types and intentions. Instead, the eagle seemed all to pleased with the story and the older gembounds display over fire. Little did she know, his interest stemmed from a much darker place.

Before the vixen could say anything to either of them, Ambrus was addressing her, coaxing her into displaying her magic for them. Brown eyes blinked, the green garnet upon her chest glittering in the dim lighting of the cavern. Though she looked upon him she did not answer right away, and instead turned her gaze back on Dragon. A type of intense glean to her look that suggested she was attempting to see something deeper in the both of them that even she wasn’t quite sure how to maneuver around. ”I do not know what I will be.” She began, watching the alligator and giving no sufficient information just yet. ”The future is uncertain and we are molded by our experiences. Perhaps I will be what you claim, perhaps I will not, perhaps I will be dead. No one can know, all we have is the here and now. The gift. The present.” Her gaze drifted from the two of them to the ground by her paws. Silence over took her. A peaceful calm as she attempted to search inside herself for the source that would allow her to know what it was she could do. Several moments passed but nothing happened and the kit rose her gaze back up to Ambrus. ”It appears, ergghm, that I can not do magic just yet. Maybe later.” She reassured herself.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }