Kin-Kin had been wandering for quite some time. She was as contented as ever, of course, but bored.

Since her little stone-hunting venture had been a complete flop, she'd found herself quite stuck when it came to finding other things to do. So she wandered. Briefly, she'd tried to scent out Imperia, hoping to fill the time with a friendly sparring match or two; they'd never been very good at civilised conversation.

Her sword clinked softly in its crystalline hold against her foreleg, its weight a comforting prospect. She wasn't afraid of Eridanus; she never had been. But from her experience, it always seemed to be the place where things went wrong. Especially when you glowed as brightly as she did.

Case and point; Kin-Kin's ears pricked upright to the sound of a small cry. It was a young voice; perhaps a newborn. Moments later, she trotted forward, weaving in amongst some trees as she picked out the source. Her golden glow lit up the dewdrops like diamonds and shimmered against the leaves.

Finally, she happened upon the source; a black pup, struggling where she lay.

"Hey, Kiddo! 'Sup?" she greeted, lightearted and soothing, as she padded forward. She nosed softly at the offending mosses and lichens that appeared to have the youngster snared. "Need a paw?"

She raised a paw, then pressed int into the earth. Her glow subsided as the magic went elsewhere. And then the earth beneath the pup reformed, lifting her up on a gemstone plinth, and out of the offending mosses.

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Kin-Kin's eyes lit up at the young one's words, her excitement, her enthusiasm. It had been so long since she'd met a newly-hatched gembound that she had forgotten just how much joy it brought her. I've missed this, she thought privately, as she examined the pup with her bright blue eyes and grey-touched underbelly. "Do ya have a name, kid?"

Kin-Kin chuckled at the young one's joy at being free, the sound pleasant, and warm. Her golden glow swelled about her once more, lighting up her fur and shimmering in the crystal around her foreleg. "This? It's just a lil' thing called magic! Earth magic, to be precise," she began, smoothly. She paused after this, taking a moment to consider; it had been so long since she'd boasted, since she'd taught, that it was almost difficult to find the words. "Have you ever used magic before?"

She slowly settled back on her haunches.

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Kin-Kin's grin broadened as the young one asked her name. Before answering, she offered a small wink. "The name's Kin-Kin. Demigod and Master of Light!" She introduced, straightening up, and squaring her paws grandly. No sooner had she done so than the pup had moved on, however.

Pups, the she-wolf thought to herself in exasperated amusement as she raised her foreleg to give the young one a better view. The blade clinked softly, glistening in her golden glow; held firmly in a tendril of crystal wound around her foreleg. "This is my sword," she explained patiently, with a small chuckle. "I can use it to protect my face as I defend myself. I think it might be a lil' big for you, though."

As the youngster continued, Kin-Kin settled back on her haunches as she waited for her excitement to cool off. "Everyone has magic, kiddo! I don't need to give you any," she said, once the pup had finished. "Everyone's magic is different, too. Wanna give it a shot?"

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Kin-Kin's tail twitched; the closest motion she'd allow to a wag. She grinned wryly, tilting back her ears, and basking in the pup's awe. As the pup paused, and focused, Kin-Kin waited expectantly, remaining quiet. "That's it. Try not to think about it. Just feel for it, see?"

She raised a paw, and gently tapped a claw against the gem on her chest, gleaming with a soft blueish hue in her golden light.

She shuffled her paws, glancing away for a moment as she thought about how to continue the lesson. Caves, it's been a while, she thought a little wistfully. Se was nudged back to attention as the young one continued. Ah. Yes, that's a good place to start. "...Try again. Magic can be finnicky. Sometimes it's just a 'lil stubborn. Sometimes it just doesn't work. It happens," she offered calmly.

By way of demonstration, the she-wolf closed her eyes, and pressed her paws into the dirt. The earth compressed, leaving in its place a shimmering bluish jewel.

"See? This one seems about your size."With a wink, Kin-Kin nudged it a little closer to the pup, its faceted surface glittering beautifully. It wasn't a weapon, or really anything useful; but it could perhaps be made into a necklace one day, and the she-wolf knew that young ones often appreciated the little keepsakes, along with the show that went with them.

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Kin-Kin seemed pleased by the young one's response to he gift, however small. As expected, the gift filled the pup with a new sense of vigour, and she quickly settled down to try again. In response, Kin-Kin nodded expectantly. "Go on, then," she encouraged with a small wink.

Kin-Kin waited as the pup renewed her efforts, subconsciously finding her gaze trailing back down towards the jewel, so beautiful, and new. There was a lot she could do with it to make further demonstrations, if this effort were to fail, to keep the little one's spirits up; she knew that newborns' attention spans tended to be short, and easily upset by failure. Many of the tokens she made were imbued with further magic that made them glow; an even more impressive trophy, even if it was small.

With such an enthusiastic student, such a little demonstration could go a long way.

Kin-Kin felt the air around her wet nose dry out, and her ears pricked, her attention turning back to the situation at hand. She glanced at the pup in momentary surprise; she had been so prepared for failure that she hadn't thought about what would happen if she actually succeeded!

The pup's reaction, a moment later, confirmed her immediate suspicions. "Not bad, kid!" she praised, after Aithne had finished explaining. Kin-Kin considered. So the magic had been to do with... thirst. That must mean she was affiliated with water magic. "You must have a thing for water magic, in that case. Pretty cool, right?"

The she-wolf had little experience with water magic, herself. But it, combined with the Aithne's nature, was enough to bring a sense of nostalgia to Kin-Kin's heart. It was the element of an old pup-friend, one she hadn't seen in many cycles.

The two had played together in the earliest days of discovering their own magics, when Kin-Kin was still young, and shy, and inexperienced.

How times had changed.

Kin-Kin looked up, shaking off the thoughts and returning to the matter at hand. "Do you wanna try again?"



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