Willow nodded as she wandered down the tunnels. "Indeed, magic. I can see what no one else does, if I touch them. Be it other sentient life or rocks," she said. "Everyone seems to have a different power. My hatch mate could conjure flames to his own will - powerful but horribly destructive." The owl's tone gained a saddened edge to it as she thought of the turaco, but she was quick to shake it off.

"Regardless, you will find hunting to be a useful skill." the owl went on, pausing for a moment to stand still. "Now, rats are typically brainless creatures. I do not imagine they feel pain. They are simply here to be eaten. Do you understand?"

Willow did not wait for Athena to declare if she understood or not. "They appear to have sharp hearing, however, and fast little legs. You must be quick, and you must be quiet. If they run you must chase them down and kill them quickly."

The owl abruptly took to the air - perhaps already preparing to give a live demo. She flies in silence, as all owls do, searching down the tunnels for a rat. She finds one washing it's face not too far away, and moves to swoop down. She came down on the creature, talons holding it tightly.

It flailed and screeched at first, Willow having to dip down and bite at it's neck before it finally went still. She flew back to Athena, placing the rat down in front of the dog and stepping to the side, quiet.

@Athena

Athena Ignis

Everything is hard before it is easy.

Athena could barely contain her excitement. Willow could do magic too! And she knew someone else with fire powers! "I can make fire too!" She exclaimed, knowing that technically that was lie. Right now, she could only breathe out superheated air, although she could create fire with that. But in the end, those were just details. "Fire isn't horrible, it's cool!" The pup spoke with a frown on its lips, feeling she had to defend her magic. While it hadn't been of much use against the dragon in Polaris, she certainly liked her powers and wanted to develop them so she wouldn't need to depend on others again in the future.

Hunting. It was something Athena felt she could do naturally. Not perfect right from the start, but the basics were already there and the canine knew how to act upon her natural instincts. She listened to Willow and opened her maw to answer the owl's question only to have the winged gembound talk right over her and leave her no time to answer.

After that, Athena could only watch as Willow found and tracked a rat, eventually swooping down to kill it. Surprisingly, the other gave the rat to her, which brought a smile to the Malamute's face. "Aren't you hungry too?" She asked, waiting for Willow's answer before eating, despite the insistent growling of her stomach.


"Listen to me."

"Fire is the oppisite of cool," Willow said. "It's hot."

The owl started chortling to herself, laughing at her own stupid, stupid joke, before she shook her head in amusement. "Perhaps Adeyemi could teach you fire, but it is indeed a dangerous thing. You will find that his talons have been burnt from such magics." she shoved the rat a litte closer to the pup. "I have already eaten. Take it."

The owl seemed oddly content as she looked over the dog, perhaps still amused as she turned to begin heading back towards her satchel, nudging it lightly with her beak before she turned back around to face the dog, nestling down next to her satchel as if it were her own child. She peered up at the dog in silence, waiting for whatever she had next to day.

At some point did the owl consider perhaps the dog was bored - though watching it and the rat, she came to the assumption that if food was involved no dog would be bored. She nodded, more to herself at this conclusion and fluffed herself up contentedly, checking over the contents of the small leather satchel lying next to her, absent mindedly.

@Athena

Athena Ignis

Everything is hard before it is easy.

"Yes, but fire is good." Although she insisted on the superiority of her element, Athena giggled at the lame joke. "Adeyemi?" She asked, already staring hungrily at the rat beneath her paws. "If he burnt his talons, isn't he a bad teacher?" The pup licked her ebony lips, stopping the gathering saliva in her mouth from slipping through. Once she had the okay to eat, the canine focused on the heat in her chest, trying to mingle it with her breath to grill her food. First, she took a few steps though, afraid of turning the rat (and generous gift) into coal.

POST ROLL EDIT
It turned out that Athena didn't need to go back a few steps, because in the end, her spell failed and she only coughed up a small cloud of black smoke. Frowning and a little embarrassed at her failed display of magic, the puppy waddled back to the rat and started her meal without so much as a glance at Willow. Thankfully, her fur was a double-coat and quite thick and nothing could've hid the flush of her skin better.

Athena was a messy eater and once the rat was devoured, blood and guts coated her maw. This didn't bother the Alaskan Malamute in the slightest though and she only licked her lips to gather the lingering taste of warm blood. "Thank you." She pressed out, only now able to lift her blue orbs to meet Willow's gaze again.


"Listen to me."

Willow peered at length at Athena for a moment before she dramatically shrugged one wing. "Who am I to judge? Perhaps you could teach each other, if you meet him." The soft voice of the owl never wavered, even as she turned her head to peer up on a high ledge in the tunnel.

She took off, wings beating in silence, and she landed with only a few clicks from her talon on the dusty stone. She looked down at the dog again, feathers fluffed up contentedly. "If you will excuse me, I am horribly tired," she cooed, turning to face the nest hidden up in the stone. "I suggest heading into Eridanus. It's rather green there, and away from the dragon in Polaris."

Only briefly did the owl look back - not at Athena, but at Polaris. Any and all discomforting thoughts and memories of that place were quickly pushed away from her mind, and the owl scowled somewhat. She turned back, croaking a simple 'goodnight' and without another word, the owl hobbled forth to the nest made from twigs and feathers, scrambling into it and slowly closing her eyes. She ruffled her feathers once more before she fell into a quiet sleep.

(exit willow)