Still, the young stag was sure that he was getting closer. His antlers waved lightly in the air and he concentrated on the magic all around him. What it could be. It was raw, full of potential, and totally untamed. The leap to an element like electricity or fire would not be a great one, and all he had to do was refine one kind of energy into another. He was used to stripping away the parts of the magic the Spire offered and leaving only fungal behind, but now he was having to teach himself an entirely new method. Casting fungal magic was like breathing, but this was like teaching yourself how to walk a tight-rope with no safety net to guide you.

He tried to grasp at the energy he'd tasted before. The distinct but faint shimmering, a hint of what was to come. He breathed out through his nose, letting his anger slowly start to bubble. Or maybe it was frustration? He concentrated. Thought about every feeling of jealousy, rage, and frustration and every creature that had spurred it. Fear, too -- desperate, adrenaline-fueled responses to be flee... or fight.

But whatever he had almost tasted before was now just beyond his reach. Whatever this was, it was going to take a little while longer to grasp again.

He felt the fire welling up within him, hot and angry. Tahi-shei's breath started to come quicker, coming aggressive and tight, and he felt it again -- a faint shimmering in the air, at the edges of his periphery. Magic enveloping him like a chrysalis and taking hold of him, seeping into his ametrine heart. Energy starting to pool in his veins. That instinctual magic rose up in him again, and he diverted his attention. Focused intensely on swallowing it down, restraining his fungal blooms. He took the energy and twisted it -- his heart was beating faster.

Could he actually manage this? He felt jealousy bubble up in his core. Madhukar. So much power. Unrelenting. Fleeting. So young, so skilled-- is this what electricity offered? Power, strength? At the cost of rationale and reason? He didn't want to lose a piece of himself. The magic crackled in the air around him -- he was shaking with the effort of restraining his magic, every muscle in his body tense. His own internal electricity, which he wasn't quite aware of, violent and desperate for control.

He felt the energy rising up in him, and it was magic and it was not his own. He swallowed hard. Tried to clamp down on it, manipulate it into his own. Make it his. Manipulate it into something vibrant and wholly Tahi-shei. He tasted fire and ozone as the energy connected, piece by piece. Nerves sewing together, connecting. Synapses firing as energy culminated in the air around him, and Tahi-shei was struck suddenly by a realization. If he tried to fight this, it might kill him.

Is this what Madhukar feels? he thought, in between heartbeats. Is this what she copes with? Slime Molds, how presumptuous of me to think that I could have helped her. I hope she wasn't offended. And then, his beating stone of a heart and rushing blood seemed to take over his ears, booming like thunder. Electricity. Vibrant, whole-- overwhelming. He let out a breath, the force of the magic finally coming to a crest -- he was not a caster, but a conduit. He had no control; he just had to ride the wave and hope it didn't take him.

Energy dissipated suddenly, but no outward effects were visible. A spell had been cast -- he knew that. But it had failed. Tahi-shei breathed out sharply and rolled himself onto his side, staring listlessly at the generator. It was hard to maintain anger for too long. "Why is it so easy for you? Are you secretly a Gembound?" Then, up at the ceiling of the cave. "And why is the ceiling able to cast electricity so well? What's the trick here?" He was frustrated and while not exactly tired, he also felt like this was... fruitless. Insecurity crept at him -- was he even good enough at magic?

The young stag sighed and stood up, eyeing the generator again. He'd been close. Close enough to actually cast a spell, but the magic had fizzled out. He got back up and eyed the rock again, almost suspiciously. Well, it had worked before... but he didn't really have the energy to get angry again. Being mad took a lot out of him. Instead, he tried to recall how he'd felt inside when he'd tasted the heavy friction in the air. How he had wanted to be. He wanted to control it.

Tahi took a deep breath, looking the stone over. He considered its facets, the way light glimmered slightly off of certain aspects of it. He felt energy rising again -- a new attempt would be swiftly approaching, but would he be able to handle it this time?

The young stag considered how he'd felt when the magic enveloped him previously. It had felt like he was not so much casting it as he was being used by the magic -- like the magic was casting itself, and he was just a vessel. It had cleaved through him, hadn't it? Steady. It had started in his breath and traveled down into his heart, rooted through him into the ground, and tried to expel itself outward and into the stone. There was enough of the energy that it needed to dispel itself several ways, then -- or maybe it needed to anchor itself for another reason? This time, Tahi-shei wanted to make his own path and force the magic to follow it.

The unsteady electricity started to rise in the air around him, fungal magic channeling itself into a new form. Unsteady. New. He breathed in deeply, taking note of his own body -- in through the mouth, down into the chest, through the legs. He would aim this himself. Keep his head level, like Madhukar had shown, and control it. He kept his eyes steady on the rock as he breathed out again.

Energy collected around him, the air crackling with the force of it. He felt that feeling again -- of the magic trying to overwhelm him. Powerful, wild, unrestrained -- but Tahi-shei had already shown it the path it was allowed to take, and he kept his wits about him. He did not let it differ from the path he'd set. The air grew heavier, his heart hammering, his whole body shaking with the effort of keeping it under control and then--

ZZT!!

He gasped as he watched it happen. Felt it happen. The electricity dispersing from all angles, and then rooting itself in the gray rock. Tangible electricity -- he watched it move, watched it fizzle around the entirety of the stone, and watched a few pieces of metallic debris briefly quiver before relaxing again. Tahi-shei felt emotionally exhausted from the rollercoaster of this whole ordeal, but excitement filled him slowly, bubbling up like fire. "I did it," he whispered, scarcely believing what he'd seen. Then, louder, coming to terms with it -- "I did it! I-- I cast an electricity spell! Yes!! Slime Molds, Madhukar is going to be so excited! I'll have to keep an ear out for her, didn't she mention that she was hanging out in Eridanus...?"

He picked himself up and trotted lightly in a ring, still very pleased with himself. "Oh, I need to show this to everyone! Ahaha! Absolutely amazing!" And with that, he trotted away.


/ exit tahi-shei