Kin-Kin listened to their words and her eyes narrowed slightly. A feeling of discomfort crawled over her skin at their words, and she felt as though some kind of dark truth had just been wormed out of her. But she tried to shake it away with a flick of her head, giving a crooning chuckle as though amused but good-humoured of a pup that had just stepped out of their place. Still, that chuckle was high pitched, betraying that they'd just struck a raw nerve.

"Ahaha! S-silly Fluffy, rocks don't feel! It's only a rock. A pretty rock, but still j-just a rock!"

She took a deep breath, thinking deeply about her own skills. Sure the crystal had been hard to make... its creation had wounded, exhausted and knocked her out with every attempt, but she was still the magical champion and it had never beaten her.

"B-besides, that isn't even the best thing I can do!"

She tried to turn the attention away from the crystal. And with the mention of other things, Kin-Kin perked up. She had a whole host of things which the kid would find fascinating! maybe they'd even forget about the crystal! It wasn't that dumb weapon that had won her the title of Magickal Champion, after all!

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Xireidi
notes:

Xireidi Xireidi's mind reeled as the forces of magic in his head still clung to his consciousness like an ancient demon that had found its mark. It was disorienting, to say the least, to have one's thoughts take such a drastic turn. It didn't quite feel alien though, it was like he was the one making the thoughts, except not. His subconscious perhaps? He didn't like the idea that he really thought like that but suppressed it all the time but that seemed to be the most right explanation. The pup backed away from the object that had started this whole thing and looked up at Kin-Kin, blinking a few times to try to shift his own thought process. "You're right." he agreed with her nervous statement, "Magic seems really hard for me. When I tried it just made up some kinda story." Arrogant wolf is just trying to look impervious and I'm actually buying it? Xireidi barely even caught the golden wolf's next words from the shock of magic thoughts leaking out without him meaning to. It was only a whisper in the back of his head, and the tendency toward such thoughts felt extremely unstable, but he had definitely unlocked something with that spell. Of course I am, he responded fruitlessly to himself, trying to get a grip again, Kin-Kin is a friend now, and if she doesn't want to talk then she doesn't have to. "You can do more stuff?" he asked aloud, hoping that his tone managed to cover up the uncertainty he felt inside, "Do you mean like more powerful magic or are you super good at fighting or running or jumping or something?" "The words I speak" The thoughts I hold And the self I keep hidden away

Tags: @Kin-Kin

Kin-Kin listened to the pup's words, and inwardly she sighed with relief. "Y-yeah... I think ya need a lot more practice, fluffy." Not entirely untrue. One needed to know when it was appropriate to shove their hypothetical noses into other Gembounds' business. And weapons, for that matter. You really needed to know when to shove your nose into weapons. Usually, it wasn't appropriate.

She gave a soft snort, and her ears perked to their words. A grin stole onto her cheeks despite herself. "'Course I can! You ain't seen nothing yet, kiddo. You came around after my moment of glory, but... I guess I can still show you some of what makes me great. An encore, if you like!" Kin-Kin chuckled, although there was a small part of her telling her that this... might not be such a great idea. She could still feel the weight in her limbs, the lightness of her gem that had come with so much practicing and failing to achieve with that same magic.

She thought hard. She couldn't go back on her word... or just not give them a show at all, now that she'd boasted about it. But said show might not be nearly so fantastical with how much she'd been pushing herself to the limit. But that, my friend, is how training works. I wouldn't be me if I didn't do that all the time. A wry smile continued to work its way over her cheeks.

She began to take deep breaths, before clearing her throat. She slowly sank down to the ground, so that she could concentrate on everything without the worry of standing, although it appeared she was just trying to come face to face with the pup as she lowered her face until they were nose to nose, her vibrant purple eyes meeting theirs. One yellow, and the other opalescent, and seemingly blind. Kin-Kin had never really noticed that before. It was... odd. She'd never known that one's gem could grow somewhere so inconvenient. All the more reason to be proud of her own, heh. But still.

Nose to nose, eye to eye, Kin-Kin blinked, and focused inward on her gem. Her breaths deepened, as she searched for the scraps of magic she'd been pushing so hard. they want a show. Let's give this pup a show.

Immediately, her fur burst into life like a golden fire, casting out light. Kin-Kin kept her breaths even despite the empty feeling that stole into her gem. She'd used this spell so much that it never usually affected her, but she definitely felt the weight closing in this time. okay... that'll be enough for a time.

In a moment of motherly intimacy with her coat lit up in flame, the wolf breathed out a deep breath, and bared her fangs in a grin.

"Impressed?"



"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags:
notes:

Xireidi I'm not sure I really want to practice magic if mine makes me mean. the pup thought darkly to himself as he sat quietly. Sure, he could see the use in magic that let him observe events unseen, but what good would it actually do? He could even see a potential use for the thoughts the magic had unlocked; after all, he was probably just a tad bit too trusting. Even so, he didn't think he really wanted to define himself as a magic user. Especially if his brand of magic would end up being useless to defend against what was to come. Xireidi tilted his head a bit as Kin-Kin lowered herself to his level, giving him a close look at her facial features. Was this what he'd look like when he got older? Beyond that there was also the mystery of the cloth attached to her person, like a cape or something. Was that common in here? There were so many questions and possible explanations going through the young pup's mind. The questions, though, stopped as the wolf in front of him began to glow with a radiant golden light. It seemed to strain her slightly but aside from that the spell was woven so masterfully he imagined she had practiced it longer than he could even comprehend. This cemented one fact in the impressionable youth's mind for certain. Not all magic was the same, and not all magic should be treated the same. Kin-Kin likely possessed a pure form of magic, full of grace and beauty. Did that mean that she had an inner voice that emphasized appearance? That would certainly explain a thing or two. His magic, on the other hand, was one of mastery over hidden truth. With it he could strip away false pretenses and bring to light what might have stayed in the darkness. That's what made his magic thoughts so snide and cruel- it was stuck in a world where deception was the norm, even on day-to-day levels. No wonder it had clashed so thoroughly with the personality of his new friend. With that revelation just about all of the pup's anxieties about the previous experience washed away. The thoughts had been a side-effect, and not one to fear but one to expect. The sense of relief probably showed as he grinned wide and, despite himself, yipped a short note of approval at Kin-Kin's bright display. "That looks really cool!" he followed up with, remembering to use actual coherant words. "The words I speak" The thoughts I hold And the self I keep hidden away

Tags: @Kin-Kin

((What direction shall we go from here. Seems like a good winding down spot, or we can go through training montage, food, bug Briar for random encounter, or just about anything you think would work.))

Kin-Kin's glow lingered in her fur for some time longer, even as the pup sang her praises to the heavens. The golden wolf raised her head, bejeweled chest puffing out with pride. Of course it looked cool! She was the coolest thing she could think of! Just wait until they saw the rest of her magic... For now, she'd keep that under wraps, though. Maybe just tease them with the prospect. Have them work their way up to her next light show whilst she gradually regained her strength.

She felt like she needed to regain some strength, however. Her legs might not feel up to a hunt, but she needed to find something. Did small fry over here even know what eating was, yet? She raised an eyebrow and examined them. Fresh outta the chrysalis. Would she have to babysit them through that as well?

Part of the narcissistic wolf groaned, if only for the fact she didn't want to show herself up. She doubted she'd be the most apex predator in the caves like this... But at the same time, she was beginning to learn to enjoy the presence of smaller gembounds. They were funny, always either easily riled or easily pleased, both of which she could find plenty of amusement in. But right now wasn't really the time for either. A sigh whistled its way out of her nostrils as she looked down at the pup.

"Haha! You like that? That's the simplest magic trick in the book. Someday, I'll show you what makes me the Champion. But we'll have to work our way up to that, yes? I'll show you when I know... that... you're well on your way to being just as great."

Good job, Kin-Kin. Ain't no shame in getting the kid's esteem up.

Slowly, elegantly (because she was feeling very achy) the lady rose up onto all four paws and with all the subtlety of throwing glitter into a desk fan, she shook the last light from her fur.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Xireidi
notes: Winding down sounds like a good idea to me! we'll always be able to drop them into more threads together later :P

Xireidi The pup ceased his jubilations and sat there with a smile plastered on his maw. Even if Kin-Kin had just been putting on the old ackamarackus it was a fun display of glitz. It also seemed like showing appreciation would be a great way of getting on the good side of a strong light-magic user. Despite her magic being mostly show he might be able to exploit her trust and utilize her actual strength later. Xireidi slowed his breathing a bit in attempts to regain focus. The thoughts were troublesome, but he'd learn to live with them, not let them drag him down. "That'll be fun to see. I'll try to get stronger by next time we meet!" A half-truth; he had no intention of training up his secret-shattering powers, but he could become impressive in other ways even if he wasn't showering down a rain of glitter. A noise far off into the distance caught the pup's attention, causing him to raise and ear and snap his head toward the source. He wasn't quite sure what was causing the chirping, but curiosity was piqued and something in his instinct told him that would be a good way to temporarily sate the empty feeling in his stomach. "Thanks for fun show, and good to meet you Kin-Kin." the pup addressed gleefully, "I'm gonna go see what that noise is, then try to get stronger so I'll be ready for next one." He yelped a happy goodbye as he turned around quickly, stumbling onto his chest for a second, and started clumsily running off in the direction he had heard what he'd eventually understand to be crickets. -exit Xireidi- "The words I speak" The thoughts I hold And the self I keep hidden away

Tags: @Kin-Kin


((I had to see if I cold actually fit WotD in :P))

Kin-Kin didn't have much of a chance to react before the pup had taken off after the distant sound of an insect. Well... that went better than she'd thought it would. At least now the wolf would have the chance to nab herself some grub in peace. Inwardly, she wondered if she would really see them again... perhaps she never would. But it seemed she'd need to buck up before then! Find new ways to impress the youngster.

On the bright side, though, they were unlikely to soon forget her.

With a huff and a swish of her cloak, Kin-Kin stalked off, sniffing the air hungrily for the next unfortunate thing to walk by, and be her brand new weapon's first guinea pig. Her stomach was growling, and her jaws salivating at the thought of blood dripping down her blade. The moment I get something in my belly, my strength will come rushing back. I'm sure of it.

With that thought, she hurried away with her nose low to the ground.

-exit Kin-Kin-

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags:
notes: