He felt the strike, again, and it was a strong one--one that thrust against his magical shield, rippling against it, taking great focus to keep active. It faltered and broke, fading, just after the energy burst had passed him by.

He felt the faint drain of this--the tiring nature of maintaining such magic--and wondered at it.

Fireheart drew back upright, nodding briefly to Pride. "Excellent, thank you. And thank you for the note, as well; I doubt I deserve it as a compliment. I feel almost as though it is a magic that has been... hm, imparted to me? Does that make sense?" He peered at the stag, head slightly tilted.

And it did feel that way--as if simply being present, here in Orion, near Pride, had somehow granted him this barrier-like ability. He focused, for a moment, in raising it back up again. It flared up stronger than before, he felt, if only barely. At least it is consistent, he noted to himself. "Again, if you would. And you mentioned other types of barriers; can you go into those a bit more deeply, if you do not mind?"

Pride gave a light nod.

"I imagine you could use all sorts of magics to create a barrier. A wind barrier, perhaps; maybe even a flame barrier, though I'd guess that would be... intensive, to maintain. But the other one that I know of is kinetic energy. Imagine this spell, the one I've been striking you with," he went on--and aimed another blast at Fireheart's barrier, without really thinking about it--nothing happened, and this was unsurprising. He exhaled through his nostrils.

"Keep it up, my magic's being uncooperative again--damn it all. In any case, imagine that energy but latent--held around me, all around me, just waiting for a trigger. The moment something strikes me, it lashes out with the same energy, but more powerfully, in all directions."

Fireheart paid close attention, but there wasn't a lot he could do with this information--not yet. The blast-magic was beyond him; he'd never attempted it, and right now he was focusing on learning (and maintaining) this magical shield.

When it abruptly burst, it burst, sending him thrown back several paces. He stumbled and blinked, jaw dropping open for a brief, confused bout of panting.

"I, ahh--I imagine... I may have been concentrating too hard on the concept of energy blasts," he confessed, somewhat sheepishly.

Pride gave a light snort.

"Understood; it happens. That was--interesting, regardless. Here; I can teach you what I know about fire--the little wisp--if you wish?" he offered.

A small, phosphorescent flame appeared before him--one he'd created before Fireheart before. Cool, without its own heat; blue-green, flickering. "Like this." He nodded toward Fireheart and, as if on command, the tiny wisp-light bobbed toward the wolf.

"It cannot burn on its own--but you can make it burn. I could show you, if you like? -Raise your barrier again," he suggested.

Fireheart eyed the wisp, and took a breath, rolling his shoulders. He decided to change tack for just a moment, focusing instead on flame, on the strange nature of Pride's wisp--on creating one, himself. Surely, if it were akin to fire, it wouldn't be so hard-?

But it wasn't true fire; he could feel that in it, as he struggled to form his own. Still, after a moment's concentration, one appeared--bobbing delicately before him.

"Well--that one isn't too difficult, at least. A shield, though..." he added, nodding his agreement; and he stepped back, casting a glance at his wisp.

Interesting.

"Yes, and you can summon more than one," Pride explained. He paced over, taking a look at Fireheart's own; it was strong, bobbing there quietly, illuminating its immediate surroundings in a soft phosphorescent glow.

Good. "It looks good. Strong enough, and bright."

Pride turned, concentrating on his own magicka as Fireheart began obvious work on a new barrier. The new wisp was fairly weak, but it was there, at least; and he stood quietly waiting with both of them orbiting slowly around him.

The white wolf braced himself, his fiery Clinohumite flaring orange-gold. A barrier, then... I can do this. Think. Focus on the shape of the magic--ignore the stag, ignore his wisps. Focus on that shape, on the power of it... a shield. Protection.
It shimmered up: the same strength as prior, a vague barrier of magicka domed before him. He turned to Pride, taking a breath and nodding.

"Hit it, then," he said, the faint strain of focus in his voice.

reposted b/c forgot to roll RIP

Pride nodded once, and stepped back, lowering his head. Ears cupped forward, the faint mane of his throat hanging, nostrils flaring as he focused. His hooves clicked on the rock.

"Hold it strong," he warned; "I am going to hit it with more than before."

Pale eyes held on the barrier as he focused on his wisps, choosing the weaker of the two, and urging it with a burst of magicka to fling against Fireheart's barrier.

It hurtled forward, suddenly a bullet, a blast, of phosphorescent flame, a searing, dangerous edge to it. It wasn't enough to truly harm, even if it did strike, but it was enough to test a barrier, certainly.

Fireheart flinched as the wisp struck, a puff and a hiss dispersing over his barrier--which flickered, faltered, but did not fail. He exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and let the barrier fade.

"Good--thank you. I think I understand it, now," he added, thoughtfully. "I imagine it's something I can practice, from here on out, though having you batter it was surprisingly useful."

He turned to watch his wisp, thoughtful. "It wears me out rather quickly. Does it do the same for you-? It feels... quite draining, to use magic at such a rate."

He dropped his nose to the ground, forming a simple, sparkling banana--a second one, now; he felt drained, hungry, even thirsty. He split it, though, nudging half toward Pride, before picking white flesh from peel and eating it.

He had been considering teaching Fireheart to throw his wisps, too, but the wolf's assertion of exhaustion was perfectly fair. "Ah, quite common, yes. I'm nearly worn out, myself--oh, thank you," he added, leaning down to pick at the banana half as it was offered.

He then formed one of his own--smaller, yes; but still, it existed, and he nudged the entirety to the wolf. "I'll be worn out soon, but I can show you the way to Cetus, if you need it; we can look for Dragon together if you like."

The banana was refreshing enough, at least, and soon they were both glowing a glittering gold.