The choice turned over to Fahl, he reached out and slid over whichever half was closer to him: the front, its head complete with a glassy eye that stared at him in death. Mouth hovered over the fish and mind tugged insistently upon his magic. The air surrounding the portion rippled with the faintest of shimmers. Pressing his face closer, he could feel a moist warmth brush against him. He bit in, satisfied with the result of his cast if not the actual taste of the fish.

"Cold then," Fahl concluded in between chews, noting the information that she was a meat-eater. "Fish supposed to be... Better when hot." He swallowed. "Could warm if want to try differ... ently."

@Comet

The lizard chose the head half. Comet wasn't sure if that was by preference, or random choice. Her curious blue eyes watched Fahl do something to the fish. The air around the fish rippled, and she felt a slight bit of heat. He made the fish warmer?

"Sure." Comet nodded. It wasn't everyday that you met a huge lizard who had the idea of warming up food. She wasn't sure if that would make it taste any different, but he seemed to really enjoy the fish from his eating. She slid over her tail end of the fish and waited eagerly.

@Fahl

When the wolf slid over her half, Fahl abandoned eating for the moment in order to attend to warming it as well. He looked down at the tail end, mouth open as he had done with the other, and made another demand of his magic. The end result was close to the same, any difference in heat minuscule. Finished, the half was pushed back to her.

Fahl tossed his head back in a prideful manner, mood buoyed by the successful reproduction of the task. It was a sign that he was one step closer to mastery; now if only the heat could be intensified. Remaining silent to rest his tongue, he returned to his meal. As he did so, partial attention was paid to the other Gembound's reaction.

@Comet

Comet watched closely as the lizard opened his mouth once again but this time she did not see the waves of heat. Had she imagined it the first time? With the fish returned to her, she gave it a cautious sniff. The fish looked very much the same, but it was the temperature, not the appearance, that had been changed.

She waited for Fahl to return to his own fish before giving her own a investigative lick. It certainly wasn't cold anymore, but it wasn't exactly hot either. It was just... warm. Comet bit into the fish, and the flavor filled her mouth. "Yum!" Warming it up made it more flavorful than usual. "This tastes really good!" She was tempted to catch another fish just so she could eat another one. But she wasn't going to overstay her welcome, and ask Fahl to warm up another fish.

With her belly full, Comet lounged on the shore of the river. Now that the fishing contest was over, she wasn't quite sure what to do now. So she just put her paw in the water and idly flicked it. Perhaps this was a good time for some conversation, or if not, for her to return home.

@Fahl

He nodded at her words, reassured by the enjoyment contained within them. Regardless of whatever doubts he might have harbored, the proof of his teacher's correctness had been delivered to him. However, discomfort settled at the back of his mind. So there was truly nothing wrong with the fish or his magic; it was, as expected, him. As this thought flickered into existence, his face remained expressionless.

Fahl swallowed whatever bits of fish still rested on his tongue. "Yes. Good." A mostly solitary existence among other drawbacks rendered him incapable of prolonging discussion in a graceful manner. Maybe a compliment? They seemed to work well with him. "Good catch too. So even better." Not that he could tell due to his accursed taste buds.

"You have a name?" Eyes examined the victor, taking note of her differing ears. While he fully intended on exploring the river for more palatable food, it wouldn't do to be unaware of who bested him before plunging in. Putting aside personal issues, the contest had been the highlight of his day. He approached and lingered at the edge, front claws barely dipping below the water.

@Comet

"Oh, um, yes. You did really good too!" replied Comet. She was quite surprised actually how much fish the lizard had managed to catch using his teeth. It was an impressive feat that she didn't think she would be able to recreate if she had tried.

"Comet." That was right, they didn't even know each other's names! "And you?" She would have to leave soon, her parents were probably waiting. But it would be good to know what the lizard's name was, after all, they might meet again somewhere, sometime. The pup looked over him, memorizing his looks so she would not forget.

@Fahl

"Comet," he echoed. A strange name but not more so than his, or Stormy's, or Imp's. The sounds were simple enough too for his difficult tongue to lift and wrap around. Fahl briefly wondered if others had chosen their moniker based off of whatever noises could be blurted out the best like he had. Maybe not. Stormy, at least, hadn't seemed like the hasty sort when she'd introduced herself.

Regardless, a name must be traded for one in turn. "Fahl."

Then he allowed his legs to slide off the riverbank and into the water. Body eased in and tail whipped behind him to adjust to the current. Head turned back to glance at the wolf, murky brown eyes unblinking. Uncertain of how to break things off, Fahl defaulted to his usual nod of acknowledgment, said, "Will keep an eye out for Comet," and submerged himself entirely.

Awareness of tone was obviously not one of his strengths. However, he was no longer available to clarify what this statement meant.

-Exit

@Comet

"Nice meeting you Fahl." replied Comet. It was really easy to say, unlike some other names that she had encountered. Perhaps it was due to his lack of being able to talk very well that such a name was made, either way, she would remember it.

She watched him slide into the water, and make his last statement before submerging himself completely. The encounter was over. "Will keep an eye out for Comet." it echoed in her head over and over again. What had he meant? There was no expression in his voice to clarify what he had meant. And she would probably never know. "Hopefully I'll see you again sometime too." she replied, even though she knew that he was probably already long gone into the river.

@Fahl (Visibility)