At the noodle's next words, Xin shook his head. One mouse was enough. At the very least, it gave him enough strength to be able to hunt another later. He lay for some time, unsure of what to do now.

It wasn't until the noodle asked a question that he paused. His name? And...what he is? He blinked. He knew he was a marten...was that what he should say? Then again, who knew if the spell would even work? "My name is Xin and I am a marten. You...?"

---

"Hear the words in your mind"
"It's all in my head"

tags: @Winter
notes: oof this is short sorry

A marten? She had no idea what that was. Then again, she hadn't heard of much yet. Now she knew what martens looked like. "It's nice to meet you Xin!
I'm Winter and I'm a cobra. A snake."

She wasn't sure if Xin knew what cobras were, so she decided to add on the end. Well great, now what? She tried to think of what else she could do for Xin. She had hunted and he didn't need another. Maybe she could fetch him water. But how would she do that? She couldn't very well carry him to a water source. But maybe she could carry some back if she found moss?

"Are you thirsty? I could fetch you some water if you are."

When I speak.

When I think.

@Xin

Winter. That was what the noodle - no. Cobra's name was. And they were a snake. Faintly, ever so faintly, they could recall maybe seeing a snake before. In fact, this snake in front of him looked very much like it. At least, he thinks she did. Cycles and cycles had passed since he last saw the maybe-snake, and he hadn't stayed around them very long to begin with.

As Winter spoke again, he flicked a tiny ear. Water would be good. He could do with some water. So he nodded, not wanting to bother with attempting to use his magic to speak.

---

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

tags: @Winter
notes: here

Winter took the ear flick as a yes and rushed off to find some water. After a few minutes, she found a very large stack of moss that was conveniently located right next to a small pool of water. Using her fangs, she carefully scraped off a bit of moss and dipped it in the water. The moss was springy and soaked up more water then she expected. She headed back to Xin and placed it in front of his mouth.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Xin

Xin waited for Winter to return, hopefully with water. It didn't take too long for the snake to come back, and when she did, he nodded in thanks and began to drink from the moss. Now that he had eaten and drank, he felt much better. Not so close to death.

When he had finished, he sat up, having been lying on the ground the whole time. He stretched slightly, flicking his fluffy tail. He wondered what would happen now. Winter had helped him gain some strength - perhaps even save his life - but what happened next? He supposed he could actually thank them for all they'd done, using words. Or, well. As best he could. He could only hope the spell would work...

But when he tried, the thrill of magic coursing through him didn't come, and he knew that it had failed. So he just sat there, sort of staring at Winter.

---

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

tags: @Winter
notes: here

Winter watched with satisfaction as Xin lapped up the water. She was happy that she could help. And when he stood again, she backed away a bit to give him room. She stared back, wondering if he was going to speak, but no words came into her head. Confused, she tilted her head. Was he just going to stand there?

"Well, um, are you feeling better?"

When I speak.

When I think.

@Xin

Xin hated this. He hated not being able to speak. If his spell failed, he just had to...sit there. Do nothing. As Winter spoke, he decided to try again, hoping it would work this time. It had to work this time. He began to focus, and this time, he could feel the magic working. "Yes. Thank you."


---

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

tags: @Winter
notes: here

Winter smiled as she heard the voice. That was good that he was feeling better. He could probably make it on his own now. She dipped her head to him. "I was glad to help! Good luck out there!" She then turned and headed off down the tunnel.

*exit

When I speak.

When I think.

@Xin