It had been ages since Mongo had practiced his Magick.

To be quite honest, he didn't use it much. He only really had one spell, and it wasn't of much use. But maybe if he trained himself, it would get strong enough to help him fight?

Besides, he needed to get stronger. He itched to fight, to scrap and bite and chew. Not to kill, of course. But merely to test himself.

So he found a place in Polaris that looked safe. Where there were no dens or Lessers at risk of being harmed, and a fairly wide, open space of almost complete rock.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Determining that this place would be safe, Mongo made one last lap around it. And then, now that he had determined he could practice his Magick here without bothering or being bothered, he moved to what he assumed to be the center-most point.

Taking a deep breath, he reached for his Magick. But there was no responding spark, no pain in his eye.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Alright, time to try again.

The Fossa took a deep breath, and raised a forepaw in the air. This time, his Magick reacted, sending shocks of pain from his Gemstone. He slammed his paw into the ground, rather satisfied when a shudder spawned out from around him.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Great, that had worked!

And that gave him some courage. So he took a deep breath, and reached into his Magick. Could he do that again? His tail witched, and he brought up his paw once more, before slamming it into the ground. Yet again, shudders exploded out from around his paw.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

It seemed he was getting the hang of this!

The Fossa took a moment, looking around. There hadn't been much of an effect, only the faintest of cracks in the ground surrounding his paw. Was that all this spell was capable of?

And so, he tried again. And so, he learned otherwise.

His paw slammed into the ground, and he staggered. The ground beneath him shook, knocking him off balance, and he staggered, struggling to catch himself. That had worked! Very well, in fact.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

The ground beneath him was cracked, and uneven. He needed to find somewhere else to practice, he was worried that the ground might give out beneath him.

So he walked. He walked a good ten body lengths, before stopping, looking around. This spot would work.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Alright, somewhere new.

The Fossa took another moment to look around. If this one was as strong as the last, he didn't want to have to fear being crushed. Thankfully, it seemed, that there was nothing nearby that could become dislodged, and harm him.

Once he was certain, he brought up his forepaw once more, and slammed it into the ground. The shudders were not nearly as strong this time around, more on par with his first few attempts.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Emboldened by his previous successes, the Fossa preened. This was becoming easy to him, and the pain in his eye was negligable. So he didn't hesitate to bring up his paw and slam it to the ground.

This time, nothing happened. Behind his skull mask, he scowled.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

The Fossa panted, growing irritated. Why wouldn't his Magick cooperate with him? And this time, he didn't even bother to lift his paw as, upon reaching for his Magick, it was unresponsive.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Mongo gave a frustrated snarl, and took a deep breath. Reaching deep, he strained for his Magick, attempting to force it to respond. But, still, nothing happened. It was like trying to pull water out of an empty pond, absolutely futile and hopeless. He bristled, fur rising around the skull mask he wore.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.