It has been said that time heals all wounds. This was untrue. The wounds remained. In time, the mind, protecting it’s sanity, covers them with scar tissue. The pain lessens, but is never fully gone. No matter how much one regretted being what they were they was no chancing what you were born as. You could not change how those around you perceived you, and while diplomacy was great when it worked it was hard to achieve when you were already perceived as a threat. This lizard could not understand Aleera because he could not know what drove her to be this way. Self preservation had been so drilled into her mind, everyone so out rightly made a threat to her survival that she could no longer not see a threat in the most innocent of actions. The test of the morality of a society was that it did for it’s children and no great lengths had been taken to protect Aleera…this was the end result of that neglect. Once, she prayed for help. Every day as often as she could. But funny how love and compassion were always sold out when she went looking. What then was left for a child with nothing? The power residing in her own bones, the only friends who came in the dark. Sometimes a proper response to reality was insanity.

Luminous orange eyes bore upon the lizard as he made his way from the waters depth to lodge himself in the mud and muck of the shore, only half of his enormity on either side of the spectrum. Without words the two of them stared one another down. Aleera out of hatred and self concern, while the lizards could be for any reason. The wolf said nothing as she kept her distance, the growl stilling roiling in her throat as she watched the water seem to shift on it’s own accord from around the larger beast. Moments passed but then the bubble that the other seemed to have made, presumably to force this show upon Aleera, came crashing back against the beast with a mighty splash. The lizard yelled out that this had not been his intent and a sudden lapse in Aleera’s growl ceased. Coming out more as a coughing noise followed by a slight laugh though that was quickly rectified and took another step back. ”Like I said. I don’t need one.”

Then, as he had attempted to force upon her she would now show him what it was to be fire. What it was to threaten her. Reaching into herself she found the source of her power, the energy drawn from her gem and the warmness that followed after. She was going to try and perform what she’d deemed to call ‘heat wave’ and merely blow this uncomfortable hot air in the lizards face. Perhaps make him step back for once. However what came out was not anything Aleera could have ever expected. It burned like hell, far more so than any air as it rolled up from her stomach, searing it’s way through her throat. It shot out with more force than she expected, a white hot substance that splashed upon the ground just before the lizard and leaving a trail back to Aleera’s feet. This bile sizzled and snapped, sending steam into the air and destroying any vegetation it so dared to touch. The pup however was left in a horrid coughing fit afterward and though she desired nothing more than a drink from the waters, her paranoia of being attacked could not allow her any closer to the larger creature. Even if her show had startled him.

table by Sara

@Ghanyarah

The reptile splashed a few more times, swinging his massive clawed hands at the surface of the water in a desperate attempt to push himself up and back into the air. For a reptile so honed for the water, he was a lost cause when stuck in it. He was so masterful when he had control over the element and yet as soon as he lost it, he was done for; even the spell he'd been working on that allowed him to breathe underwater didn't quite work to a tee, not yet. And he sure as hell wouldn't be able to summon it now while he panicked. His tail thrashed behind him, working to get him aloft the water surface again - he'd completely missed her laugh, though whether or not that was a good thing was rather up for debate. Instead, he finally collected his composure and returned to floating on the surface, gasping in a huge breath of air before looking at her. If lizards could blush, he'd be beet red.

Ghanyarah was able to stare at her for a few seconds, trying to sort out the thoughts in his mind and decide whether or not he still wanted to pursue showing her his tricks (at risk of them failing grievously again), when she chose to do the same. Only she didn't mess up completely. Before he realized what she was doing, she brought up a mouthful of steaming bile, spitting it at the muddy ground just before the water's edge. Ghanyarah splashed backwards, as if the magma might have caught him if it went too far - and he watched it sink into the mud, smouldering as it melted the substrate. The wolf, in turn, hacked as though she hadn't expected so much heat to come from her. Ghanyarah's gaze flicked from the lump of magma to her, wide; he'd seen his brother do this before! His reverence for her returned, ever astonished by the proficiency for heat.

But she didn't look at him like she knew what she was doing. She coughed and sputtered, and Ghanyarah did the only thing he thought could possibly help - in an attempt to cool her from afar, he tried to suck in as much water as he could. Of course, his scattered mind still failed to retain a grasp on the water. So he turned and whipped his heavy tail into the water, sending a wave at her instead.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN


@Aleera

Aleera coughed and gagged, the inside of her mouth feeling as though she‘d eaten lava. The only relief she could provide herself was with swift intakes of breath, the cool air doing little but it was better than when she breathed out. This forced her to quickly adopt a type of labored breathing, deep breaths but shallow exhales. Each one coming out in a short spurt of white steam as though the room had gotten dramatically colder, though such was not the case. Though it had startled the nameless lizard, it pained Aleera most. Her own magic had backfired, again. Perhaps she should not have been so quick to judge the other in his failings when she herself couldn’t even sustain her own fire. Just another way fate was laughing in her face. More distracted by the burning sensation in her mouth the wolf failed to notice that the other had tried to summon his magic again and failed again. Try, fail. Try again, fail better. The second time around, he didn’t bother with magic he simply used the might of his body to help her…though by the time he enacted the swift movement of his tail Aleera was three seconds to late to process the innate desire to move.

A wall of water came down upon her in a harsh spray. It drenched her completely, water dripping from fur and rolling down exposed skin. Some of it even got in her mouth when she tried to suck in another breath. Though it enraged her coughing fit and sent her reeling backward a foot or so the relief the water provided was unparallel. Several moments went by but when Aleera finally got a hold of herself, she was standing before the lizard again…but, beyond a tenseness to her stance, she did not out rightly seem hostile anymore. She was paranoid, not stupid, and the only conclusion as to why he would suddenly splash her with water from afar…was to help her. To cool her off. But why? Why would he help her? Was it to gain her trust only to eat her or something when she did allow him closer to her? Perhaps he’d simply wanted someone of her like to test his powers upon. To improve upon them without restraint because she was fire? There were a million and three ways Aleera could see the nameless lizard attacking her, despite helping her, but even so, she did not display her aggression quite so openly anymore. To a fool this would be an invite to come closer. To a wise man, it merely meant she’d been placated for the time being…but was still as volatile and destructive as the element she so embodied.

”Why?” She asked suddenly, orange eyes peering upon the other creature without so much as a flinch. ”Why did you help me?” Whether he realized it or not. It had been her intention to ward him away, or hurt him, whichever came first. So why bother to help the person who would not deem it wise to help you in return?

table by Sara

@Ghanyarah

He had no idea whether or not it would work. So, he found himself thoroughly relieved when the water managed to splash her face enough to cool her down. Maybe it had actually managed to soothe her, or maybe the shock of the water was just enough to return composure to the wolf, he wasn't entirely sure. Considering the water hadn't made her stop immediately - in fact, it seemed to worsen her cough before it made her better - he had to assume that it probably startled her into feeling better. Oh well. He tried. The komodo huffed and settled into the mud, pleased with himself before she spoke again, seemingly dumbfounded by his rare act of charity.

Ghanyarah slowly tilted his head as he stared at the wolf, rolling over her words. "You appeared to be in pain." He answered simply, as if the reason for him helping was totally obvious. "Fire and Ice." The lizard added, then righted his braincase to its most natural angle. There was hefty meaning behind his words; an answer that could be interpreted a multitude of ways should she think any deeper about it. Fire and Ice - opposites that could compliment and counteract each other when needed. Yet it existed beyond that. It was his reverence for her skill and his insistence that they were meant to work together. It was an inexplicable pull towards her kind that he found matched in his kinship with Dragon, despite only being reflected in the wolf.

Would she accept this answer, or would she reject him still? He almost hoped that she would give him a chance for that alone, but if she insisted on pushing him away, then the komodo dragon would have no interest in pursuing her further. He was clearly far too distracted to prove his strength to her and it wouldn't serve him well to continue embarrassing himself. He suspended motion for now, keen on her reaction. ...Only when she gave him a response, it was not what he had wanted. In fact, it wasn't much of a response at all. Ghanyarah narrowed his eyes, he flicked his tongue and backed away. There was nothing else he could reap from this conversation then. He abandoned the wolf there, and though he wouldn't forget her, he would leave her - for now.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN


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