Carja's head shot up as she heard the call, snorting softly and rubbing her eyes before standing up. She trotted in the direction of the yell, eyesight blurry with sleep before coming to a stop before the whelps.

”Van? Azzy?”, she said, stifling a yawn before bending her neck down to face them, ”What's the matter?”

She caught sight of Ascent's swollen paw and gasped softly, gently taking it in her own massive hands, ”Uh oh- a bumblebug sting?”

Carja cast her magic out and summoned a small chunk of ice. She wrapped it in a leaf and placed it in Ascent's hand, closing her fingers around it.

”Hold it like this for a minute, but not too long,” she said, and looked towards Vanyel, ”Are you okay?”

Vanyel linked his and Ascent's fingers together, flashing her a smile before he heard his mother crash through the trees. He looked up and held his sister's hand as he watched his beloved parent care for the sting, reaching up instinctively to be held.

He snuggled against her front as she picked him up, eyes down, ”I'm okay. I thought we could catch one and bring it to you to see, but I forgot it stung.”

He bit his lip and sagged, ashamed of himself.

@Ascent

"Mom!" Ascent greeted. "Yes, a bumblebug. I must have scared it when I caught it." Their brow wrinkled slightly, not one for dramatic facial expressions even if their scales would have allowed more. I do not like the idea of scaring things. They would have to do better in the future... be more careful, more gentle, slower and more controlled in their movements.

The chill seeped through the leaf onto their skin, and they closed their eyes for a minute, enjoying its soothing touch. But before long, the cold grew to an uncomfortable level itself, and they held the leaf-wrapped ice away from their paw for a moment to let it recover.

"You made the ice, Mom?" Out of thin air, it seemed. "Van's dad is hot. He said Van'd be hot, too." But ice was cold, seemingly the opposite. "Am I hot, or cold?" They certainly felt warm, but Mom was warm too, so the two things didn't seem related. "I am warm," Ascent amended. "Do I make things hot, or cold?"

@Carja

”Magic,” she said, ”That's what it's called. Vanyel and Talys make fire, and I make ice. You make ice too, but I can also breathe fire. You can branch out from your natural magic to learn different things.”

She picked up the two whelps in her massive jaws, ignoring her son's indignant squeaks as he squirmed around in her mouth. Carja carried the two of them over to her nest and set them within before curling up around them, her body warm and comforting.

”I can try to teach you two magic,” she said, ”I can't guarantee I'll be the best teacher, but I'll do what I can.”

She grinned down at her children, tail flopping with excitement.

Vanyel wriggled about as they were picked up, whining and flopping half out of her jaws, careful of her sharp teeth. He snuggled up against Carja's warm side and was glad to be hidden by her wing, head tilted down. He picked at her scales, brushing off dirt and grime that had gathered from her short trek.

”I want to learn,” he said, looking up, ”Talys told me he'd teach me to forge things and make jewelry.”

At the moment he wore nothing but a thin loin cloth, the humidity and warmth of Eridanus not requiring anything heavier. Later he'd upgrade to pants, maybe even a shirt, but right now his skin was too sensitive for anything else.

@Ascent

Ah. So they were both, then, and they could be other things too if they wanted. "Are there more magics out there?" Ascent asked, then let out a surprised chirp as they were lifted into the air. Being carried in someone's jaw--even if it was their mother's--was a rather odd sensation, and they couldn't say that they enjoyed it. The snuggles that ensued once they reached the nest were much better.

"I want to learn, too," they chimed in. Magic was versatile, and it could be useful. When they grew up, they could make ice to help soothe hurts like Mom did. Or they could make beautiful things, like Talys did. Whether it was through healing or bringing beauty, they wanted to repay the world in some way for the harm they'd accidentally done in trampling those ferns and scaring the bug.

@Carja

”Talys and I will teach you everything we know,” Carja said, lifting up one of Ascent's many wings and carding through the soft downy feathers there, ”There are many kinds. My magic is both water and ice, actually. There's magic of the mind, magic that can bind colors to one's scales, like mine. My scales weren't always like this, black and covered in stars. It's why Vanyel doesn't have them, because the colors and specks are dye that were enchanted to stay on my scales permanently. My nose is my true color.”

Different colors for all of her families. Grey for Asimona, Svartis, Bone, and Blight, black for the Voidcrawlers, and starry speckles for her current one, of many different kinds of gembound. She'd have to ask Attikias to dye her again for her children.

”I can tell you a story of a friend of mine,” she said, ”If you want? It can be a bedtime story.”

Vanyel crouched over to Ascent and snuggled into her, adoring the softness of his sibling. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and fluffed his wings like a baby bird, watching Carja preen her feathers.

”I want to hear,” he said, looking up at his mother and grinning, ”Is it the one where you met Shengxiao?”

She hadn't been able to tell the whole thing before he'd fallen asleep, but he loved it anyway, he liked the voice she did.

@Ascent

"Magic colors?" Ascent breathed, lifting up a claw to brush at Mom's scales. "It's pretty magic." In their mind, magic was now divided into pretty and useful, though they supposed making things look pretty was its own use.

"Me too!" they chimed in with their brother. "I love stories. Who's the friend?" They flopped their tail on top of Vanyel: their way of returning his hug.

@Carja

”Another time,” she said to Vanyel with a huff, ”No... this one is of adventure.”

Carja got herself comfortable and held open her paws, ”My friend's name is Comet. She is a wolf, which is a small creature with thick fur and four legs. She has sharp teeth like I do and paws, though she doesn't have fingers, only toes.”

She tickled Ascent's little toes (though honestly they were fingers too, complete with a thumb as well) and giggled softly before continuing.

"We'd decided to try and catch a redfang, which is a fish with sharp teeth and a dense body. I managed to catch one, but it nearly bit off my tongue as I held it in my mouth,” she said, and opened her mouth to point at the large chunk of muscle missing, ”And then when we went to go back... something grabbed me!”

She grabbed Vanyel with her tail and pulled a face, holding back a snicker.