The monstrosity lowered its head further, red eye bobbing side to side as it inspected Dragon to the best of its ability; sight had never been Phlegethon's strong suit, and it did not have a proper nose to utilize scent with. It, instead, carefully memorized the alligator's shape and the rhythm of his heart, his breathing. Phlegethon's perception was quickest in terms of shadows and vibrations. Attention to its periphery had proven to be an excellent hunting tactic, when it wasn't scavenging and stealing the food — and offerings, apparently — of others.

"I will grow," Phlegethon warbled with all the certainty it could muster. It was young, yet, and had not eaten enough. It would grow larger and larger. Stronger, too. "I did not mean to be caught. You were hidden very well and I did not hear you." Of course, alligators were apex predators, and — of course — Phlegethon did not know this beforehand. "I have time to grow. I have not been breathing for long." Cycles were hard to keep track of when you were a ravenous predator, but even Phlegethon knew that it had not long since it — and the others' — emergence. The warning about stealing from so-called Children of Rot was not unmissed, and it bowed its head again with a snap of its beak-mouth. "How will I know who is a Child of Rot?" As if stealing from not Rot-Child was so much better.

It'd also admit, quietly, "I do not eat speaking ones, anymore. I like to talk." For a while, in its earliest moments, the monstrosity had not discriminated between the lessers and greaters of the caves, instead electing to hunt down anything that moved — movement meant flesh and blood. "I do not know where Nox is. She told me not to use fire," the child grumbled petulantly, turning away for a moment, "I do not want to listen to her." Mouth drifting open and closed, Phlegethon's head moved back to Dragon. Eye-level with the alligator, the hybrid warbled, "how do I make a large fire like you do?"
@Dragon

Dragon rumbled a hum of approval at the child's mention of wishing to speak to others.

"Speaking is good. You gain allies. And information. And information--knowledge--that is power! That is how we learn what is dangerous. And how to avoid dangerous things, or how to kill them." His tail lashed slowly through the mud, dragging across his vertical axis behind him. "Perhaps you can find Children and meet them, and then you will know. Many of those who live in Cetus are the Children. As for Fire-... Nox bears the same hide that you do. Black and slick. It burns easily! That is likely her fear. But stay in or near the water--it is not hard, here--and you can simply leap in. Or cast fire from the water, as I do, when hunting."

The alligator considered. "You must focus on your inner flame. On rage, strength, the fury of the fight. On the heat of the moment, the passion and the unbending will of fire! Draw it in and up, and breathe it out in your relentless assault. Fire is trumph!"

The alligator's dark eyes glittered with energy, his naturally-grinning maw seeming somehow even more pleased than usual at this talk of fire. He appeared infused with excitement rather than placid and rumbling, as before. Clearly, this was something that pleased him very much, this whole "fire" thing.

"You may use it to fight; you may use it to hunt! You may use it as a tool, when fire is needed as a light, or a beacon, or warmth!"

@Phlegethon

Phlegethon flinched at the rumbling hum coming from the alligator, head receding into its own neck and neck slithering back to shortness. As its red eye realized that Dragon had not moved, the monstrosity carefully allowed itself to relax once more. Was the humming good? Hearing praise, it put two and two together, concluding that the large beast was indeed content with its responses. No need to be defensive or evasive, yet.

Knowledge was power, apparently. The importance of it made sense, given the many unknowns of these caves --- and other unexplored ones --- including Dragon himself. Phlegethon realized that it already had an example of such: linking a humming sound from this alligator (and possibly others, if there were some) to contentment and praise. Now, it wouldn't have to flinch every time and retreat. "Is Hunger a Rot-Child?" It warbled softly, head bobbing side to side like a bird once again, "it looks like you, but with very long front legs and with the same hide as Nox and I, I believe. The mire runs black where it lies." Phlegethon was not sure if any of its siblings had been encountered by this alligator, but it did not want to be involved in a group with Hunger.

Now, on to the fire. "If our hides burn easily, then why does Nox not use that?" Phlegethon's head tilted side to side, eye glinting curiously. "I hunt from the water like a frog; wait for the shaking and the shadows, then---" its neck extended to its full length, right into the air, "--- strike fast." Neck winding down again, the monstrosity listened avidly to eager Dragon's instructions on fire. "Triumph," it repeated softly, reverently. Why didn't Nox take advantage of this?

With the alligator's words in mind, the monstrosity tried to focus in on the same magic it used to create smoke; those billowing clouds came from the same source as fire. Just... that inner fire seemed to be a whole lot deeper within itself than the smoke. Phlegethon felt something rise up its throat and doubled over slightly, throat convulsing in a motion similar to a cat preparing to hack up a hairball. A click! sounded from within its gullet and it shrieked. Its throat began to glow white-hot, slimy flesh igniting immediately and exploding from within. Pain bolted across its consciousness, and its first instinct was to race into the comfort of the water it had grown to be so familiar with.

Fortunately, that instinct paid off well, as water began to filter its way through its throat and sputter from its blowhole. Of course, the pain was still there, and Phlegethon remained underwater for some time.
@Dragon

Dragon was about to respond, somewhat bewilderedly, that hunger was an instinct to prompt someone to eat. The explanation that it was a gembound, however, interested him--and the description of it looking like him piqued his interest at once. Was it his child, then..? His true child, born from Nox? Perhaps it would be more useful than his other child.

He wished that he had known of it, or could see it. Where was it now? Was--...

Phlegethon was glowing, and shrieking, and rushing into the water. Dragon turned, head coming up and legs shuffling as fast as they could, to face it. The hybrid seemed to be soothed by the water, but it stayed there--likely in pain--and Dragon fought back the urge to laugh. Instead, he offered encouragement.

"Good, yes; by the water. As you see, it is important--even for one such as I, with none of that oil to stop me. Fire burns. It will always burn, but it gets better, given time. Perhaps not on your skin, but as it comes from your maw, assuming that's not full of oil, too," he added thoughtfully.

The creature's hunting tactics were interesting, and Dragon was tempted to discuss those, too, but first he waited to be sure that the other creature was all right.

@Phlegethon

Blissfully unaware of Dragon's urge to laugh at it, the monstrosity remained in the water. The vibrations of speech — however muffled by a foot or two of water — reached Phlegethon still and it listened. Water killed fire, smothered it in both its waking and sleeping moments. This would be good until it could endure the pain that came with such a destructive element.

Its dark head slowly slid back to the water's surface, much like an alligator's would. Cracking its jaw slightly, the child allowed a little bit of water into its throat. The mud of it did wonders for the charred gullet. Phlegethon then abruptly shut its mouth with a click! Moments later, a rather enormous plume of smoke and water sputtered from its blowhole, rising into the air. Of course, there were some globs of very flammable slime involved as well.

For a while, the child remained silent. It would move side to side or adjust a fin or flipper. The texture upon its skin drifted seamlessly between textures, crawling in one second and hardening in another. "I am not dead," Phlegethon concluded with an air of finality.

Well, it wasn't wrong.
@Dragon

The alligator lay there, not entirely sure how to respond to this.

"...No," he agreed, at length.

For a time, he was silent--merely laying there in the muck, staring out at the black creature that was clearly Nox's child, but most likely not his own. His curiosity about "Hunger" was piqued. He was also curious about this creature--its plans, and so on. "Practice, and you will find magic coming easier, and not harming you so badly. If you know this, and how to hunt, then I have one final warning for you. Have you heard of the elders? Has your mother explained to you?"

@Phlegethon

"No," it repeated agreeably, seemingly satisfied with the observation skills Dragon had. Phlegethon lurched forwards once — so that its chest scraped the muddy floor of the swamp — and lifted its head above its surface much like the Nessie of another world. "I will practice." The creature could hunt and survive well enough, but the benefit of range beyond even what it knew would only be useful. With time, at least. For now, fire only burned it, caused it pain.

It warbled curiously, "I do not know of the elders. Are you one of them?" Mouth slightly ajar, eye peering at the alligator, Phlegethon shifted forwards in the muck. Where its throat had been burned, bubbles of slime churned and shifted, smoldering slightly.
@Dragon

"No," the alligator rumbled. "They are creatures far older than I. I do not know how old! But many seem to hold their own agenda. Aquarian--our father--wishes to sleep, eat, and survive--as we do. We wish to learn, but he already knows much. The others, though. Perhaps they have had a hand in the creation of our world; I do not know. But some are malicious, or mischievous. Others might aid! The dragon Raheerah wished to own and to destroy. The fairy Nemean--a small, pink, buzzing thing--is a being of duplicitous evil. Shoud you find it, never trust it. Eat it if you can!"

This instruction passed on, Dragon sat firmly in the muck and thought. What else should he tell the "little" one? ("Little," despite the fact that when it stretched out that long neck it was nearly ten feet long.)

"There are other magics, too. Ones that you can learn and use without fire."

Dragon considered, for a moment, running through the list of things he could do with his magic, in his mind. To his mild surprise, he realized that almost everything he knew was fire--or other, utilitarian things that couldn't really be shown, like the ability to breathe water or see in pitch darkness.

"Watch," he said at last, settling on something. After a moment of focus, his hide shimmered and faded, mottling and darkening to perfectly match the mud, so that he seemed almost to vanish. He'd already been well-hidden; now he was damn near invisible.

@Phlegethon

Dragon: not an Elder. Phlegethon squared that away within its mind. The alligator was wise, but not ancient. It wondered, distantly, if it were to become an ancient, someday. If it did, would it be as large as the Aquarian it imagined? With jaws that scraped the ceiling and swallowed the corpse-pile whole? He did not even need to split his own jaws in order to do so. Perhaps. The elders seemed to simply be old, powerful Gembound. Talking ones, too, it seemed. They had desires and had evils within them. The monstrosity nodded rather eagerly at the notion of being allowed to eat something. If it was bad, it should be eaten. Munch.

When instructed to, the creature watched Dragon carefully. Its mouth opened wider, allowing as much light in as possible to look at the alligator. Since it couldn't blink, the next best phrase for how quickly he disappeared was fast. Had Phlegethon held the utmost trust in the alligator not to snap at it and devour it whole, it would have leaned down to tap at the space Dragon had left behind. Instead, it stared in wonder and bewilderment. Other magic was helpful. That invisibility trick would work wonders for hunting tactics.

After a moment of careful inspection of the invisible Dragon, the child warbled, "how do I become a Rot-Child?" It sought allies, as the alligator suggested. It desired strength, knowledge, conversation. If it was among the ranks of the Rot-Children, it would know them and would not accidentally attack them. Nothing spoke against the notion. Oh, and an added benefit would be not being eaten by Aquarian.
@Dragon

Dragon laughed, seemingly good-naturedly, as his form flickered back into its normal colors. Or... lack thereof. Normal patterns would perhaps be more accurate.

"You ask!" he responded. "So long as you agree to meet the other Children, to protect them when we require it, to fight by our sides when we need it--then you too will have that benefit. But be wary of the words of the Elders; reveal nothing of the Children to them. Do not voice your suspicion. And seek knowledge wherever you may find it, to share it with the rest of us, as I have shared with you."

Dragon waited, for a moment, to let this sink in--and then asked Phlegethon, "Do you wish this?"

@Phlegethon