Tuck's suggestion only confused Talion more. What did he mean 'different magic'? How many types were there? If there were other kinds, then how did they work? As if reading his mind, the other Gembound tried to explain how to use magic, but his explanation continued to confuse the Gemling. Stone? Tuck glanced all over Talion, drawing his own inky gaze down to his feathered frame. For a moment, he just stared, not really knowing what to look for, but then he felt it. Now that he was thinking about it, he seemed to notice the difference in it and the rest of him. Looking down, the young Gembound pushed the feathers over his heart away with his beak, and revealed the protruding bit of smoky quartz.

The stone was the exact same as the shards that had surrounded him after he woke up, Talion noted silently. There had to be a connection, but for now, all he could focus on was the gemstone that was a part of his chest. It didn't seem foreign, or like it didn't belong, it was just a different part of him. Like his wing was different than his foot, it had a different purpose. But for all the staring, and wondering, that the owl did, he couldn't figure out his stone's magic just yet.

After letting out a sigh of defeat, Talion turned a glare on Tuck. "Are you sure?" The Gemling demanded, suddenly doubting the other Gembound's intentions. Why would he want Talion to know about magic? Then they'd be equal, and Tuck couldn't feel superior anymore. Without any magic, the young owl had only one thing going for him, and that was the couple of inches he had on Tuck. Pulling himself up, he pushed out his chest, ducked his head down, and glared at the little mammal. He'd fight if he needed to prove himself, maybe then he'd discover some kind of magic.

@Tukluk

Tuck watched as Talion attempted to do a spell, and was disappointed for him when it didn’t seem to work. What he wasn’t expecting was that for some reason Talion now seemed to believe it was his fault. Either that or he was mad at him for something else! And Tuck, small as he was, was intimidated when the owl bent his head low and seemed to thrust it at him. The marmoset scrambled backwards, the hair on his neck standing up in alarm. Instinctively, a type of ‘armor’ began to grow out of his body, tiny little thorns sticking up out of his fur to deter the Gemling from trying to harm him, for fear of being stabbed! But they were small thorns, not very strong, and would bend under pressure. Still, there was a good chance of someone getting poked by them if they went up and tried to grab the marmoset.

“Hey, I don’t know why it didn’t work, okay!” Tuck said, trying to diffuse the situation, and feeling his skin hurt from the Host spell that he was really good using way too often. “You could try again instead of glaring at me like that!”

Words: 199 @Talion

Being so young, Talion had very little control of his feelings, and apparently even less control of his magic. That, and the fact that he was certain Tuck was withholding something about magic, or lying altogether, made him very distrustful and suspicious. The two feelings practically came off of the young Gembound in waves as he continued to glare down at the tiny mammal. For a moment, he relished in the sudden fear that entered Tuck's eyes, and how the other Gembound seemed to shrink before him. But then the marmoset showed his superiority with magic again by growing small, sharp looking points out of his skin, causing the melanistic owl to jump back in surprise and caution. His inky pools, narrowed just a moment before, were now wide with shock as he glanced all over Tuck's 'armored' frame.

When the surprise faded, Talion snapped his beak shut, and then narrowed his eyes again. What can I possibly do? The Gemling wondered as he glared at Tuck with open hostility. The other Gembound was obviously older, and more experienced, and having just emerged into Origin a short time ago, he had no clue what he was capable of. Feeling so helpless made Talion fidget restlessly, lifting and dropping his wings against his sides. After a couple of seconds, the youngster snapped his russet facade down at his side, and then stared at his wings as an idea began to form.

He'd only used them to stretch out before, but they clearly had a purpose, just like Tuck's tiny hands did for him. Turning his braincase back toward the marmoset, he bunched up his legs and then launched into the air for a second. The inexperienced Gembound clumsily unfurled his wings, and then rapidly beat them forward at Tuck in an attempt to push him backwards, and to scare him. If that actually worked though, he wasn't sure, because he landed on his butt after a couple of seconds, the wind knocked out of him, and with his wings limp at his sides and his head resting against his chest. "Ouch," he muttered, before struggling to get his legs under him.

Tuck’s instincts were telling him to run because this owl was obviously trying to pick a fight with him, and he was too small to be picking a fight with an owl if he didn’t need to. But at the same time, this whole situation was just making him annoyed because the owl wasn’t believing him for some reason. He thought their acquaintanceship had been coming along nicely, and now all of a sudden, Tuck was being flapped at with angry bird wings. He scrambled backwards even farther down the tunnel, watching the Gemling with cautious, albeit curious eyes. Oh, it had hurt itself just now, trying to hurt him. How adorable, he thought sarcastically.

“Well, what’re you gonna do now?” he asked Talion. “Look, if you would just calm down and let me try to teach you, maybe you’d get somewhere with your Magic. If you’re just gonna try to attack me for being nice, then I’ll just go. What’s it gonna be, feather-face?”

Words: 166 @Talion

It was the talking that really got to Talion. All the time Tuck talked, sounds and noises that were half foreign and half understandable. It was maddening to the Gemling, and he wanted it to stop. Despite the fact that he was now sore all over, he got up to his feet, and tucked his wings back against his sides with his head held high. Then, with as much control as he could muster, he slowly turned a burning glare on the tiny mammal, leaning forward threateningly like he had before. For a couple of minutes, he just stood there and roasted the other Gembound with his stare, pouring all of his anger, mistrust and pain into it as he formed what he wanted to say. Finally, he opened his beak and hissed,"I'm going to learn by myself, you hairy little... nice thing. Don't trust you, never will, now begone!"

It was obvious from the avian's misuse of the word 'nice' that he had no idea what it meant. It wouldn't matter if he did though, because Talion had reached his breaking point. He couldn't, or perhaps wouldn't, get past his suspicions that the other Gembound wanted nothing good for him, and that he wanted to lord his magic over him. For all his bravado though, the barn owl feared what Tuck could do, especially if he decided to use the plants surrounding the pair in the tunnel.

As his fears sparked more and more ideas, Talion jerked his head from side to side to check to make sure they weren't coming real, before starting to inch backwards toward Eridanus. Tuck made no move to stop him, and once he was several hops away, he turned, and started running as fast as he could into the room. He didn't know where he was going, or what he was going to do, but he wanted to get away from the dangerous, hairy little Tuck. Distance was all the protection he had, he thought, and he used it carelessly as he rushed headlong through the foliage.

[EXIT]

((OOC: I'd love to thread these two together again after I finish his golem fighting thread >< Or maybe they will join an upcoming quest together. Either way, definitely after Talion either calms down a bit or gains some experience x3 ))

Tuck was feeling very affronted by this owl and his stupid suspicions, and he opened his mouth to huff indignantly, but closed it again slowly when he noticed that the bird seemed to be looking around itself as if it were crazy. The marmoset’s eyebrows scrunched as it began backing up in the direction of Eridanus, and he said nothing as it turned and ran away, looking really clumsily stupid as most birds do when they’re running instead of flying. He laughed at Talion quietly, since obviously the owl had no idea that Tuck, in fact, lived in Eridanus, and that if that’s where the bird intended to stay, then they’d probably be seeing more of each other soon. In an effort to be somewhat polite — and, in all honesty, to avoid another weird confrontation — Tuck waited a few minutes before entering Eridanus himself. He hoped that when he and Talion next met, that the owl would be in a better mood…

[Exit Tuck]

Words: 164