Although Kin-Kin was slightly miffed that she hadn't been able to weave the spell, she knew that it was going to take a while to perfect. After all, she'd taught herself magic from the very beginning, and even then creating crystals was outside of her element. Kin-Kin thought deeply for something that could be just as impressive... "Heh... You're talkin' to a magical champion here, Kid. I can do anything if I set my mind to it!" Kin-Kin wondered if they'd been there... Imperia had been present at that magicka competition, after all. That'd been a long time after their first clash.

Then, the wolf had an idea."You know what? I can make this sword even prettier. You've seen my little rainbow trick, but I bet I ain't the only thing I can light up!"

Kin-Kin turned her attention from the ground to the crystal spire against her forelimb. and focused. The glow in her fur dimmed slightly... As bit by bit, it was transferred into the blade. Eventually, Kin-Kin raised her head to examine her handiwork. The blade was lit up by a glow that, from this point on, would never fade.

The wolf looked to Aaliyah for her reaction.

---

tagged: @Aaliyah
ooc:
muse:

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Aaliyah watched with fascination in her eyes. When she saw the crystal began to light up, her eyes widened. "That's so cool! I wish I could do that. All I can do is just burn stuff. I...don't like it very much." She lowered her head slightly. "But if I had the same powers as you...I could make things glow!" She bounced a little before stopping suddenly, remembering that Imperia didn't like when she did that. She wasn't sure how the wolf would react to her doing that. Best to be on the safe side, right?

A thought then occurred to her. "Hey...I don't know your name. What is it?" she asked, her head tilted.

@Kin-kin

"Ah, just like Imperia, then..." Kin-Kin responded, as though deep in thought. "Well, in the beginning, all I could do was create light, but now... I can create objects that are just as beautiful, only physical. Ya just gotta keep trying, Kid. Maybe for now you can only burn stuff but maybe someday you'll learn how to really 'shine'... pun totally intended. Hah!" It seemed her adamantine ego wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Kin-Kin kept on grinning, her plumed tail waving from side to side. "Name's Kin-Kin. Don't wear it out!" she laughed her chiming laugh. "Now, as for you... I can't be calling you kid forever, right? So, who're you?"

---

tagged: @Aaliyah
ooc:
muse:

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Aaliyah listened, already beginning to imagine what she may one day do with magic. She wanted to work with light! Maybe she could do that with fire somehow? She'd probably just end up burning everything, which is what she wants to avoid. Burning isn't fun! It smells horrible, and is really painful. Why would anyone want to burn others? Or...even themselves? She recalled the permanent burns on Imperia's paws. Why had they done that to themselves?

She then looked back at the wolf, having looked away briefly. So her name was Kin-kin. "My name is...Aaliyah." It felt so weird to be saying her own name. She had only ever heard it from Imperia, in the unpleasant way they said it, as if the name was a curse. She paused for a moment before speaking. "But you can...uh, call me Li."

@Kin-kin

They weren't the talkative type, it seemed. Kin-Kin assumed that they were simply basking in her glory, of course!

Kin-Kin's ears twitched, and she dipped her head in a nod of acknowledgement. Her plumed tail swished from side to side, a grin twitching the side of her mouth. "Great to meet ya, Kid-... Ah... Li. 'Scuse me if I still call ya kid, will ya?" The wolf let out a chuckle.

She pondered what to make her next move. She wanted to impress, but she had to be strategic about it... She knew by now that her power over crystals was... unreliable, however spectacular it may be. She knew that she'd need to work on that one. But she had an idea. maybe I need to start smaller.

The wolf bent down and touched her nose to the ground. if there was even just a glimmer, then it would be enough. Light flickered over her fur, sending sparks through her gem... Only for that glow to disappear in a shower of sparks and a shock through her body, of all the energy draining from her at once. She almost lost her balance, her body feeling almost like a lead weight. She slumped, holding herself upright yet hunched over. And bit by bit, she raised herself back up, trying to look calm despite the sudden exhaustion flickering through her features.

---

tagged: @Aaliyah
ooc:
muse:

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Aaliyah flicked an ear lightly. She didn't really mind if Kin-kin called her kid-she was one, after all. Just as long as the golden wolf didn't call her Aaliyah in the same tone that Imperia always did, it was fine. She began to watch with interest as the other began to do a spell.

But suddenly, she seemed exhausted. Had the spell failed? Her eyes widened in surprise as Kin-kin nearly collapsed. She was still hunched over, and she watched as she slowly brought herself back up. Could her own spells do that to her? Why would anyone want to cast a spell knowing that it could fail and backfire?

"Are...Are you alright?" Aaliyah asked, hesitatingly walking closer. She had clear concern in her eyes and voice. Kin-kin was the first gembound she had come across who had actually talked to her! She hadn't seen very many, especially since she had to be near Imperia nearly all of the time, but this was still the first one who was nice to her. It would be a shame if that were to change. She nudged the large wolf's head lightly with her nose.

@Kin-kin

Kin-Kin didn't respond for a moment. She tried to shake off the exhaustion that had crept into her limbs, raising her head and forcing a toothy grin up towards the cat. After a few seconds had passed, Kin-kin sat down, a soft sigh escaping her. "O-of course!" She said. After that show, though, she didn't feel like it'd be a good idea to try again. After all, that was what had gotten her here, wasn't it? For now, she might have to bench this crystal stuff. She could practice when she was on her own and there was no-one around to see her fail! Yeah. That sounded like a far better plan! "Just... was a difficult spell I chose. That's all! Hardly anyone can pull that one off."

Her voice, despite the exhaustion, still managed to be slightly smug. Shaking her head once more, the wolf puffed out her bejeweled chest and grinned. Whilst her fur wasn't as salient as she'd have liked at the moment, the wolf reassured herself that she still looked awesome. It didn't take just light to make someone as great as her. No, that took hours of work and one hell of an ego.

---

tagged: @Aaliyah
ooc:
muse:

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Aaliyah continued to look at the wolf in concern. She sat back and watched as she slowly recovered, her long tail flicking back and forth slowly. "Are you sure you're alright?" She paused for a moment. "What all can happen when a spell...backfires?" She had only done her spells so many times...Usually whenever Imperia told her to. She didn't like her spells. They caused harm to herself and others, and she didn't like that. Hated it, even. But these spells...The spells that Kin-kin has seemed...fun. They could make her exhausted, as shown clearly here in front of her, but they can't harm anyone. Surely that would be best?

She watched the wolf in front of her for a moment. "My spells always hurt me and others. They're...painful. They burn me and others. But...Imperia always makes me do them. They're paws are permanently burnt, and I think they enjoy it that way. How or why, I have no idea." She sighed and sat down, looking at her own paws. She had a few burns, but they weren't permanent. And she hoped they never would be.

@Kin-kin

"Heh... 'Course I am! It'll take more than that to bring me down, kiddo." Kin-Kin reassured, sitting and looking at them. An ache had begun to creep into her leaden limbs. "Backfires...? Well... They can be kinda dangerous... but, it all depends on the spell." Kin-Kin hadn't had any... particularly bad failures. Except maybe for one, and she'd narrowly avoided catastrophe. A small, pink scar still adorned her belly, but was covered by golden fur. "Like, if ya summon crystal, if ya get it even slightly wrong, ya could end up stabbing yourself instead!"

"Oh, really? How odd. My spells never hurt me unless I get careless. They're beautiful, but they can't hurt me. Though it might just be my skill, huh?" She paused, unsure of how to respond to their laments. "Well... if ya don't like it, ya shouldn't have to do it. It's your choice, not theirs. You decide what magic ya wanna do. I did, and wouldja look at me now?"

She wondered why anyone would want to give themselves permanent burns. Surely that was the opposite of fun, but she could understand the like for battle scars. Perhaps they thought it made them look tougher? Kin-Kin liked her ability to bear no scars; then she could enjoy the feeling of being a no-hit-wonder. Having a sword helped with that endeavor a lot.

---

tagged: @Aaliyah
ooc:
muse:

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Aaliyah listened intently. She didn't want her spells to backfire! That could just injure her really badly, since she had fire spells. She didn't want to burn herself! Her paws were already burnt, and it hurt to take a step. She blinked at their next words. "Stabbing yourself...?" That didn't sound like fun either. She didn't want to accidentally stab herself! What if it went too far deep, in a really bad spot? She shivered just thinking about it. Were there any spells that wouldn't be harmful, even if it went wrong?

She continued thinking. Maybe she didn't need to do fire spells anymore! She could so something else. But what? And how? How would she know if she even had a new spell, one that wasn't fire? She'd just have to...try a spell, and hope for the best. She'd try that some other time, perhaps when she was alone. Whenever that would be. She had only just managed to get Imperia to let her explore on her own. And if they found out she had come across Kin-kin...She suddenly froze. She couldn't let Imperia know she had seen the golden wolf! Then they'd never let her explore on her own again!

And...what if Imperia came by now? Were they watching? She began to look around. She couldn't see the golden eyes of the caracal, but what if they were hiding? She lowered her ears before turning back to Kin-kin. She decided not to mention her sudden feel of dread, hoping she hadn't noticed. "How did you know that your spell would be...different? The spell that let you make the...sword. Did you know it was different from your other spells?"

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

tags: @Kin-kin
notes: here