the air here was dry to a degree that pained the cub. but, young & reckless, she imagined that this would be the best place to train in, a place with a high degree of difficulty where there was no denying the power that she harbored within, untapped, untouched, unknown—the cub reaches within herself, pulls, feels her skin shift...

it was a success! she felt the water seep out of her parted pores, and watched the water above her—she laughed, thinking of adeyemi. . . one could be powerful and draw from themselves, but how? h o w powerful was this magic she wielded? she reached within as the water from her bodice sprinkled around her. to do, this was how one learned. again, she sought to open herself, to withdraw... she hungered for success, pined for it as she did for nothing else—deep within herself, she sought to take, to d r a i n... how much? how much could she withstand?

another success! the brilliance of personal victory! she was unsure if it could be any better than this, her impending exhaustion thus outweighed by her success. she would pull & pull again, recklessly digging into herself, away from her bladder, dizzily swaying forward with a drunken look of one who had tasted something they could not get enough of, imbibing upon her own poison—foolish! she the very fool she had mocked, once! but she was young, and desired to know all that she could do. she would push again, laughing drunkenly to dispel the water from her.

y e s! DITA! she screeched, knowing her kitten somewhere nearby. come, come and see...!

o, she was tired. weak with exhaustion but exhilarated in her success. a hiss, as she dug deeper. ( you can do more than this, so much more — you were meant for power! g r e a t power! ) she could not help but to cachinnate with abandon, vision blurred, ( let me dry my own tears ! ) and she tugged, from her insides. she dwelt in unreality, deluded in her dehydration—

her heart beat hard against her chest. her breath wheezed from her dry lips. ( surely you have more than this! ) she remembered the burns. remembered the pain. her own water... it could heal! fantastical wonderment invaded her head space; and that was it, before she tugged again, manic, now truly thirsting for water... and there was no true water to be found! could she drink of herself? to wet her tongue...—

everything came from her. fluids of all sort flung into the air. she gave it her all. a quiet gasp, o—

Drifting along, wings gracing the wind with their presence... The Bone King looked down upon his kingdom. Bones scattered all about as usual, small divets of water filling once more. Thank the gods above... if there were any. Fate never seemed to be decided, for everyone was born with it. The fact that the water seemed to be returning was odd. Azazel would be one to investigate.

As soon as the Ave tipped his crown downwards, he was greeted by a rather large pool of water. Floating in the crystalline liquid was the body of what was once a beautiful creature... another Gembound. At the bottom of the pool, a glowing stone lay... seafoam green. "No..." Diving downwards, The Bone King did not want to believe it. What... what had happened? Stepping gingerly in the water, he prodded the cub. "Wake up... you can't be asleep like this. Wake up!" He never knew what death really was... and surely this poor child did not deserve it. Looking down to the stone at the bottom of the pool and a steady stream of blood escaping the girl's throat, he poked his beak into the liquid, gently grasping the jadeite with it and pulling his head back. "I'll wake you up again... someday."

Gliding over to the dry ground, he dropped the stone, staring at it with melancholy. "Who were you...?" How did she deserve this.