Amras While the laugh had been half out of embarrassment at botching a spell as he was trying to show off magic and half an attempt to help convince Envy that they were safe, it was obvious that neither of the others were having it. Amras allowed his face to show the apologetic emotions he felt within, though the expression quickly changed to wonder as the child, in their heightened emotions, managed to pull of yet another spell. This one was rather strange, a raw erruption of magic that was very much unlike the element that Envy had shown before. It almost looked like a reverse-twisted light spell imitating a fire spell, but something about it reminded him more of the abilities taught by the blacksmith than anything. For one so new to magic the small weasel showed some amazing potential. "Do not worry, it appears to be simply another spell. Take a deep breath and focus on trying to find what feels different now than did a few seconds ago, that might help you discover the mechanism involved in its construction." Of course almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth Li came over and attended to the fearful child, taking them once again into their care. Truth be told it was probably the best move; Envy was clearly overwhelmed and having a trusted figure close by would help them get through. Still, he wished he could have prevented such a disastrous turn of events. "I deeply apologize for putting both of you through such a scare." he spoke as he shuffled to turn toward the shore upon which they rested. He was still halfway underwater and it was getting a bit chilly but he could attend to drying off and warming up later. "That probably is enough magic practice for right this moment." Actually being out this far could be advantageous. They were far enough back that he could probably take steps to see if he could catch any fish for them without there being any risk in case he failed again. "I may stay out here for just a bit. There is plenty of water around but it may not be a bad idea to try to gather some food as well." Water wasn’t flammable, right? He certainly hoped that he wouldn’t be able to light the stream aflame with a bad enough misfire. If he was to find any signs of fish about he would need to be able to see, plus the two on shore would probably benefit from having some light as well. Still sitting Amras turned to face upstream, and as subtly as he could brought three fingers together again underwater. In sharp contrast to before the twisted magic of his pattern painter spell shot out in a wide net, twisting and turning and consuming the entire floor of the stream in their section with a neon blue celtic knot pattern, stopping a short distance away from the shoreline but radiating its light far and wide, ever shifting as water rushed over the light’s source. The multitude of fish large and small scattered for a brief second as the light was made manifest, but soon went back to their usual business, casting shadows across the water so they could be seen even from far away. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: @Envy @Aaliyah notes: None

Envy
You sink your teeth into the people you depend on
Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem

At that moment in time Envy appeared too nervous to do much other than listen to Amras' words as they felt the energy flowing and tingling through them in waves that ultimately manifested in rolling clouds from their emaciated hide. The little one nervously glanced around, holding completely still as Aaliyah felt for their scruff, allowing themselves to be picked up and carried above the water gushing and burbling below them in a way which was, to Envy, terrifying.

As the danger seemingly passed, fear slowly dissipated, and Envy was given the chance to think about their newfound power. They seemed to finally find their voice and reply to Amras' words, and they did so gruff and sharp despite their high-pitched voice."No. It's mine," the little one huffed grumpily, seeming to assume that the Gryphon was out to steal the power that they'd only just discovered for themselves. Fear and nerve was slowly, piece-by-piece, replaced by a jealous longing to keep to themselves the one thing they appeared to own.

At first the rolling clouds of pitch-blackness coiled around Aaliyah's face, but soon began to reduce in both amount and opaqueness, the silhouette of the small long-bodied creature more and more apparent in the mist. Finally, it disappeared completely, a last wisp huffing out with a sharp exhalation, and the glow fading from the child's lilac gaze so that the angry little weasel was, once again, just that.

When Aaliyah put Envy down at the water's edge, all anger and jealousness was suddenly abandoned, and the reason for their being here suddenly welled to the surface. All the yelling had caused their throat to sting and burn as though blistered, their voice crackling like old leaves. They didn't speak as Amras' apology appeared to wash over them, the wonderful lights beneath the water failing to frighten or induce any kind of wonder. The little one darted between Aaliyah's still-dripping legs, capable of a surprising burst of speed when they were desperate. They reached the water's edge, and dipped their muzzle into the cold, and refreshing water.

They took a mouthful...

Couldn't swallow.

Envy sat back, leaning away from the water as they gulped desperately. A shiver ran down their spine; in the water they began to taste the cold metal of their gem, seeping in and poisoning the water. In desperation they spat it out and tried again, sucking up another draught of cool, clean water. Again, the gem got in the way until the young one spat it out onto the earth, retching and panting, and whimpering.

One more try.

This time, the water they coughed out was tinted red with flecks of cinnabar, and the little one veered backwards with a shrill sound of fear. Upon calming, they hung their head and did not return to the water.

"Mamma..." they said, voice broken and trembling, twisting their head around to look at Aaliyah, and their gaze was one of complete and utter defeat. "I can't do it. It's not going to work."

They tottered back to Aaliyah and lay on the ground beneath her belly, curling up.

"I'm not going to make it, mamma."

---

"Speech."
"Thoughts."

@Aaliyah @Amras

Li glanced at Amras as he spoke, and flicked her ears. "Such a scare" was a bit of an understatement - she was near terrified. She glanced back at Envy and saw that the fog was dissipating. She breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed visibly. She wished that would be all the magic that would be done, but of course Amras had to use more. Thankfully, all it did was light up the area underneath the water. She had it admit it looked pretty, but soon brought her attention back to Envy as they attempted to drink.

She felt her heart as it seemed to break when Envy said they couldn't do it. As they lay down beside her, she quickly curled herself around them comfortingly, licking their fur a little. To be honest, she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand this. It took a lot of commitment, and she wasn't sure she had it. At the same time, though, she knew she couldn't leave the weasel. She hated to admit it, but she was attached.

She paused in her grooming and looked up at Amras. Was it possible there was a spell that could help? If anyone knew, it had to be the gryphon, right? "Amras, do you...Do you know if there's a spell that could help them eat and drink? Their gem...It's near their throat, and I think it's toxic or...something." She glanced back down to Envy. "They can't swallow..."

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

tags: @Amras @Envy
notes: here

Amras For the moment Amras was focused on following along with the movements of the fish underwater. He could hear what was going on at the shore. He could hear the trouble the child was having with the simple act of getting a drink of water. With broken heart he could hear the child's desperate cry of defeat. What could he do? Was there a spell? Was there a technique? Was there anything?! He could command the elements to his whims but for all the power he had grown to control there wasn't a single thing he could think of that could save this poor child. More than that he was mostly a stranger in the child's eyes, and one that had brought fear due to his mistake. Worry and sadness showed on the gryphon's face even as he pretended to be solely focused on fishing. He could bring no relief, he could bring no comfort, and even should he catch a fish what use would it be if Envy was unable to even drink water? As hand trailed within the water Li called out to him once again, a plea of desperation like any good maternal figure might have. In that plea it was finally revealed to Amras what had caused such a condition in this youth, and why it had expressed surprise at a gem being a good thing. To have one's gem near the throat was bad enough, but for it to be a type that could poison food and water... Amras had never even heard of such a thing. It was a wonder that Envy had even successfully emerged into this world with such a handicap. The tiny fish trailing between the gryphon's talons darted away, no attempt to catch it ever executed as he thought deep and hard on the question. Silence passed. Much too long. Every option, every theoretical twisting or shaping of any kind of spell passed through his mind. If he were injured he could flood his system with raw magic and direct it to speed recovery, but instinct told him that was a special case; that no foreign magic could cause recovery in another in its completely raw form. Even if he could this was more basic than an injury. This was lack of the basic necessities of life! Finally Amras sighed and shook his head. "No spell I can perform would help, nor any spell I am on the cusp of discovering." He stood up once more, water dripping from his fur as he slowly stepped toward the two and kneeled down again when he was only a few feet away. "I have heard tale of those born with the water element who are able to absorb water from the air itself to help with their spellcasting. Unfortunately based on the spell that Envy displayed they seem to be attuned to the primal element. Unless water and primal are more closely related than I suspect there is little that magic can do to fix this." His voice was quiet in stark contrast to the confident tone he had presented before. It wasn't often that he was in this situation. He had run into defeat before but there had almost always been some clue as to how to proceed. A life was on the line... and there was nothing they could do to save it... Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: @Envy @Aaliyah notes: None

Envy
You sink your teeth into the people you depend on
Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem


When Envy was in desperate need of comfort, neither of the adult Gembounds seemed to know what to do. Their dry throat burned but they began to sob anyway, losing even more water to the scraggly fur on their cheeks. They huddled close into Aaliyah's soft and warm belly, leaning into the combing motion of her warm tongue eben as it rasped along their bony spine, and their sobs subsided gradually to listen to what they had to say.

Their adopted mother, whom Envy had thought to be infallible, appealed to Amras for help. The little one raised their head in hope, wet eyes wide, but only silence greeted them for a long while. When they finally spoke, Envy buried their head in Aaliyah, although their rounded ears were still perked and listening. They thought about the moment when they'd felt fear and anger, adrenaline running and magic flooding out of their gem; perhaps that could happen again? Perhaps need was so dire that they could tear themselves back from the brink?

Amras had said earlier that few magic users wielded such dramatic results on one's first attempt. Perhaps they were special; perhaps they had something that no-one else did, and that was a gift of magic. Envy desperately wanted that to be true; they wanted something that no-one else had, something others would want but could never have. Then, perhaps, they would feel complete. Only now, the possession of such a rare gift could mean the difference between life and death.

Envy wiped the tears away on Aaliyah's belly fur an looked towards Amras, their eyes filled with hope. Even though the Gryphon had never used such a spell themselves, there was at least hope; and if their current success with magic had been anything to go on, it sounded easier to them than drinking normally. "I want to try it," they declared, sniffling. "It sounds easier than drinking, anyway." And surely, even if it was so different, it might be like that other magic that had leaked out? Surely despair was just the incentive they needed to perform a miracle.

wobbling away from Aaliyah, they lay down on the ground, closed their eyes and covered their head with their paws, desperately trying to tap into the floodgates that had opened before.

C'mon. I don't want to die. I want to live. Like everyone else...

Again, they felt a surge of power, the floodgates inside them opened wide and far. Envy gasped in shock, their throat quickly changing from burning, to satiated. Dampness crept into their fur, and moisture pooled around their whiskers, but in desperation the air quickly went from humid to parched, the ground beneath hem cracking into parched mud.

At first, Envy raised their head, eyes showing a glint of triumph- but it didn't last long. soon, the young one felt their stomach beginning to turn with nausea, their head beginning to throb. They began to pant, head swaying and dropping to the ground as their vision began to spin in a fit of dizziness. Nausea mounted. Their breaths quickened, heart hammering with a low thrum in their chest.

This couldn't be right.

"I-I... Think it worked bu... no... doesn'... feel right," Envy slurred, sides heaving, vision spinning, as finally they opened their jaws and vomited fresh, clean water onto the earth. Completely exhausted, they felt the worst of their tremors subsiding, the dizziness having passed, but they felt like simply sleeping.

But at least they were no longer thirsty.

With a groan, Envy slunk over to Aaliyah's side, flopped down against her warm fur, and lay still.

"I'm... still hungry, mamma..." came their hoarse whisper, a long while later.

---

"Speech."
"Thoughts."

@Aaliyah @Amras

It was a long time before Amras spoke, and each second of silence only weighed her heart down further. Was there any hope for the weasel? When he did eventually respond, it didn't help. There had to be something that could be used. Anything! He hadn't discovered every spell - if he had, he'd know how dangerous many spells are. So she had to believe there was hope.

She turned to Envy as they said they'd try. Ears pricked, head lifted, she watched as they wobbled away from her and on the ground. She watched attentively as they seemed to use their magic. She watched as the ground beneath broke, cracking, and quickly turned back to Envy to see them lift their head, a glimmer of triumph in their eyes - only for it to end. They began to pant, head drooping, and concern flashed in her eyes. That concern only grew when they threw up water. She was about to rush to them when they slunk to her side.

Immediately, she began to nose through their fur, wondering what had happened. She could feel moisture - quite a lot. Maybe...too much? Had it worked too well? She had no idea. When Envy said they were hungry, her ears lowered. That would take care of thirst, but hunger...? Was there a spell like it that would work for food? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure if it would work anyway. "I know, dear, I know." she turned to Amras, eyes narrowed. "What the hell happened to them? It worked, but why did they...Why are they like this now?" She turned back to Envy and licked their fur a little more. There had to be something that could be done about hunger. Another spell, perhaps? She really didn't know.

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

tags: @Amras @Envy
notes: here

Amras The gryphon's saddened expression did not falter even as the youth expressed interest in trying this magic it had just heard about. Indeed it would be a life saver, but what was the likelihood that they could actually pull off such a feat? Of course they had shown unusual aptitude in magic versatility before with their spell of light and darkness. Who knew, perhaps magic and luck favored the desperate? Sadness faded to intrigue and again into astonishment as Envy's fur began to shimmer with the reflection of water even as the ground below them shriveled up. Was the weasel actually doing it? Were primal and water so closely intertwined that the gap between them could be crossed in an act of desperation? He would have to remember that for the future, but for now he was too focused on the success to consider fully the implications. Perhaps it had been a bit too successful. Envy's show of nausea and absolutely soaked form indicated that they had grasped too greedily at the magic, that it had been a bit too much for their small body. Still, it was something they would likely recover from, a great improvement over dying from thirst. "Like a hive of bees, magic can give both life and pain." he absentmindedly responded to Li, his eyes still transfixed on Envy, "To the untrained there are only bees, and to the masters of the art there is only honey. To the average individual and occasionally unlucky master, though both bees and honey exist and consideration must be made whether the reward is worth the risk." Of course the risk was definitely worth the reward in this case. Amras turned to face Li now, a small smile appearing as the worst of the danger had passed. The child was hungry, no doubt, but thirst was always a more crucial danger than hunger. Perhaps less so with Envy due to their emaciation, but they would still have more time to attend to this than they had with the thirst. "With the light in the river it shouldn't be too difficult to grab a fish. Would you like to help me try to catch one? We might even catch enough for all of us to have a snack." If they worked together then surely they would be able to catch a few fish. Envy would probably have trouble eating the fish but perhaps since they had more time there would be more opportunity to try. Who knew, perhaps the kid would break out yet another variety of magic and surprise them? Apparently even if Envy had been born with a very debilitating condition nature had been kind and given them a small advantage in return. The gryphon stood again and turned to the stream. He had yet to fully complete a cast of his water element, but he knew where to look. Inside him a river flowed, and by following that river he could convert his magic into a more aquatic nature. The difficulty was actually following that river without losing control and keeping the connection stable for the entire duration of the spell. He wanted to try though, he was far enough away from Polaris that he could probably give this shot his all without drawing the storm's attention. White energy began to radiate from Amras's stone as he closed his eyes and pictured the river within. From his arm the magic followed the river's course to his core and then in a pulsing rush accelerated in differing directions with such ferocity that he could barely keep track of his own spell! It was only by instinct and luck that the spell held stable and he opened his silver eyes, now tinted with glowing veins of blue as brilliant blue energy radiated from the quartz on his arm. The flowing magic snapped out of his body and began to float around his stone like a myriad of thousands to nearly invisible blue tendrils of varying sizes. The strain on his system lessened with magic now outside his body instead of flowing throughout and Amras could feel exactly what to do. He thrust his arm out and all at once the tendrils shot forward and attached themselves to various points all over the stream of water. He snapped his arm back and for just a split second the stream appeared completely dry as a sheet of water flew overhead and crashed down behind them, still attached by the threads and flowing straight toward them as it made its way downhill back to the natural flow. "There should be a few that get caught in the rocks, but see if you can grab any as they come by." he spoke in a distant tone, most of his focus spent on keeping the spell in place. At this point most of the tendrils were along the edges, focusing flows of water containing more fish to flow past them. A few tendrils were centered right ahead, batting away any streams of water that might barrel toward them and threaten to wash them away. The end result of this was a short wall of water on either side of them and the loud sounds like thunder as the tall stream crashed back into its basin. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: notes: None

Envy
You sink your teeth into the people you depend on
Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem


Comforted by Li's gentle reply, Envy cuddeled up just that little bit closer, another shudder running through them. Their headache was just beginning to ebb, and with a deep sigh, they struggled to remain in wakefulness. Luckily, their hunger did most of the work for them.

Envy looked at Amras with half-lidded eyes as the gryphon began to speak, but the meaning of their words seemed completely lost on them. They scoffed. "I'm not gonna eat bees! That'd be stupid!" the little weasel stuck out their tongue, although the mention of honey caused them to lick their dry lips and salivate, wondering if the sweet taste they imagined was in any way similar to the real thing.

Envy narrowed their eyes and considered their options as the gryphon asked if they wanted to help- although the question was far more likely to be directed at Aaliyah. Envy didn't really think they wanted to chance swimming, especially not after their near-miss with the water spell minutes ago. Again, they stuck out their tongue between sharp teeth. "I've had enough of water," they complained, falling silent for a moment to watch, head tilting, to see what they were doing.

Before they knew what was going on, Envy once again whimpered and curled up, watching the walls of water breaking about themself and Aaliyah in a way that looked to Envy like any second they'd come crashing down and sweep the both of them away. They could barely hear Amras' words above the roar, but they caught the gist of it, and looked out into the water flowing around them. Occasionally, the weasel caught sight of a silver flash amidst the rolling waves, but they daren't approach, and turned instead to gaze expectantly at Aaliyah. "Maaamma...?" they whined, voice pleading, tugging with their small paws at her chest fur.

---

"Speech."
"Thoughts."

@Aaliyah @Amras

Li flicked an ear as Amras spoke. All this talk of magic was making her slightly queasy. She used to love it, used to love the feeling of being in control of something. But it wasn't long before she lost that control, and it all took a turn for the worse. She turned to Envy. Would the same happen to them? She hoped not. Hopefully they'd never have a spell as dangerous as her fire.

She turned to Amras and nodded. She could help, sure. Hunting was something she could do. She never cared for the taste of fish, but that was fine. She hadn't eaten in some time and would eat almost anything at this point. She watched as he used magic to bring the stream out, and blinked. As the water came around them, she flinched just slightly at the loud noise. It looked like the water would crash in on them, but she trusted Amras to not let that happen. She had to trust him.

She focused on the silver flashes of the fish streaming around them, and prepared herself to strike. Just a little longer...and....There! Her paw shot out and she hooked a fish with her claws, quickly bringing it out. She killed it swiftly, and then nudged it over to Envy. "Here. See if you can eat." She wouldn't eat until she knew Envy had.

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

tags: @Amras @Envy
notes: here

Amras The water's rushing flow began to ebb as most of the stolen stream made its way back to its rightful home. Most of the upended fish had made it back to the basin, but a few small fish had been caught on rocks as predicted and one large one had been swept from the flow by Li's expert timing. The blue strands of magic faded away as Amras allowed himself to release the spell, no longer needed to hold onto the water's path. "Good catch!" he complimented as he collected his breath. The spell had impressive results, that was for sure, but it would be a while before he would be able to really master it. It would happen in time though, just as it had with all his other spells. With practice came competence after all. With Envy's discovery of a way to consume water and a potential source for food attained the real danger to the child seemed to be over. Hopefully there existed a spell to help them eat the fish, and if anyone could discover such a thing it would be this child, but Amras had given all the help he would be able to. "I'll gather any other fish that may have gotten caught. The stream should stay lit for at least a couple weeks so feel free to stay for as long as you'd like." He said as he wandered over to pick up a minnow, opening the pouch that had previously contained his orb and placing it inside for the moment. "If you'd like another light I can probably illuminate a string or something for you. It'll take a while for me to organize the mess in that building so I should be around for a while." Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Minnow x1 Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: @Envy @Aaliyah notes: None