James had sprung out of his house like it was on fire, running towards their meeting place. A message from Pride had come to tell him to go there, and so he'd immediately gotten up to race towards it, ecstatic to see him again. It had been so long!

The foal arrived, panting gently as he skid to a gentle stop, ears perked and his fluffy tail wagging back and forth.

"Pride!" he exclaimed, in happiness and relief.

He trotted forward to nudge up against Pride's side, having grown a bit since they'd last met. Not yet Pride's size, but he was getting there. Eventually, he'd be bigger, not that either of them knew that.

"Where did you go?" James asked curiosly.

@Pride

He'd been calling fairly loudly, voice ringing through the area around the Throne. He had, too, been trying to summon up his strange barrier, but when he heard the clatter of hooves approaching he paused and fell silent.

There-! He greeted James, as the young horse arrived, with a dip of his head. "Ahh, James--there you are. Go?" he asked, quizzically; "Err, I've been back and forth from Eridanus, and at times, Polaris? I think we just have been missing each other, but as I said I will often be around here if you need me. Hm--if you do, and I'm not here, leave a stone beside the Throne, yes? Then I'll know to seek you out."

The stag craned his neck around, offering a nudge of his nose to the foal's greeting. "I was just going to check on you; to ask--are you doing all right? And to ask if you wanted to train with me, for a bit. I've been having to train, myself," he explained, with a dip of his head.

He noted almost at once that James had gotten larger--broader, taller, longer-limbed. He had assumed that the foal would approach, perhaps, Khloros' size at some point (this was one of Pride's only references for 'horse') but he hadn't realized how fast the colt would grow. "You've gotten bigger," he observed, with a nod.

@James

Oh, so they'd just been missing each other. Which made sense, because he'd mainly only been out either to dart to and from Eridanus for food or other supplies or to train with Eythan. He hadn't yet perfected a lot of the moves he'd been shown, but he was convinced he was getting close.

"I've been uh... okay," he said with a frown, remembering the rather fresh fight he and Ari had only an hour or so before, "I've been keeping up my training and finding things to do. I've been training with Eythan! He's teaching me to defend myself. And I helped my friend, Ari, move into the house next to mine."

James was babbling a bit, a nervous habit he had when he was hung up over something, whether it be a fight, a plant that refused to be rejuvenated, or even something as trivial as tripping over a rock and embarrassing himself in front of no one. The list went on.

He finally inhaled and looked up at Pride, "I'd love to train with you. Um... I learned a new spell. I'm not quite sure how I did it... I really only wanted to make a light, but I guess my magic got confused?"

James looked around, spinning in a circle to find a suitably sized rock before kicking one over and focusing on it. He bit his lip as the rock lit up, and pushed just a little bit more to give it enough fuel to stay lit, before looking up at Pride, a small smile on his face.

"I've been using it to light my house, it's really pretty," he said happily.

@Pride

Pride listened with content attentiveness, a friendly expression fixed on his face. He only interjected once or twice, to comment on James' updates. "Ahh, Eythan--the Bonebound, yes? They seem to be kind," he observed, thinking of Aure. And strange, he added to himself, now thinking of Giggle. "Allies of ours, certainly. What sort of things have you been training?" he asked, and it was with open, friendly curiosity rather than any sort of demand.

Then James was speaking of a friend, and of a spell--and displaying a small blink of light that seemed to infuse a stone, and stay there. Pride's face lit up. "Ahh, good! That's what I wanted to help you with, to decorate your home, if you'll recall--my son does that. Mercurius' grove, should you ever find it in Eridanus, has quite a few of those hanging about. Beautiful, aren't they-?" he added, admiring the stone. "I am glad you found light, after all. It's something I haven't learned, myself," he went on. A small wisp snapped into being by his side, and he nodded to it. "I've shown you that, I think; but that's the extent of my ability to create light. Do you want to tell me of Ari? I don't think I know the name," he added, trying to cast his mind back; but the name wasn't familiar to him.


Familiar.

@James

"Well, he's been teaching me to defend myself. My spells are kind of limited, nothing outwardly offensive, but he's been teaching me to use my body t fight, and how to use my spells smartly, like using my telekinesis to throw my enemy away or to throw rocks," James explained excitedly, clearly smitten with his new mentor.

James grinned at the praise, tail shaking like a lamb's, "I've got lots in my home. I helped Ari decorate his place by making some and helping him weave vines together. But um..."

His face fell and he frowned, looking down at the ground, "... He's my friend. But... I told him about Alpha, and tried to convince him to meet you or Eythan to at least learn some way to get away from a fight like that, but... he told me that I should have tried to be diplomatic! A-against that!"

It was clear that he was hurt by the words, and despite explaining the predicament he'd been in, the other simply didn't understand that James was convinced that his life was in danger. And it might have been, had Pride not come for him. He still beat himself up about it.

@Pride

Pride listened to all of this, and smiled. He stepped closer and leaned down, solemnly moving to touch his nose to the colt's. "Show this 'Ari' diplomacy, then, James. He's right that you ought to know it; I did not fight Alpha, I only talked him down. But you're very right in saying it will not always be enough. There are those out there who will care little for words, and against them you will have only your own power to protect you; hopefully 'Ari' needn't learn this the hard way. But compromise may be best. Perhaps you might ask Ari to teach you diplomacy, if he in turn allows you to teach him how to fight, or at least to flee?" he suggested, gently.

As for the rest, he thought about it and nodded. "Good--very good. The magic of the mind... that spell is perhaps the most powerful in my arsenal, and the least dangerous in terms of backfiring. Simply lifting an enemy high into the air and dropping them is enough--let them fight gravity. Not all have wings, like Eythan does," he pointed out. "I'd be happy to practice with you, if you like. I've been needing to do that myself; my magic has been weakened, you see," he explained--"Nothing to worry about, I think, but it is... something. You can throw a stone at me, if you like?" he offered, and after a moment's focus, he raised a shimmering barrier up preemptively.

@James

Horrible, horrible conflict welled up in him, making him pin his ears as he looked down. He'd... honestly expected Pride to agree with him, and it stung to have the other agree with Ari, though he also found James' point valid. He would clench his fists if he had any, but gritting his teeth seemed to work. Now he just felt... silly. And childish. Like he'd fought with Ari over a grape or something.

"How could your magic have weakened?" James asked quickly, desperate for a topic change when it appeared.

He kicked a small stone forward and focused on it, before looking up at Pride and trying to aim for right in the middle of his shield. The stone shot forward and plinked off the hard surface of Pride's shield, falling to the ground and rolling away. Normally, James would have felt excited, proud, even, of such a small thing. But now? His chest tightened and his teeth clenched, and he looked down, disappointed.

"I messed up," he said, bitterness clogging in his throat, "I think I hurt Ari."

@Pride

Pride watched as the rock bounced off. His gaze flicked down to it, though his ears swept to James to listen.

"Nice shot. Precise. A strong use of magic," he offered, but James was... miserable, it seemed, his mind elsewhere. The stag watched him, for a moment, and then chose his words carefully. He was not fatherly, in this moment, or condescending or patronizing; instead he spoke as a cautious friend, feeling his way as he went. "My experience has been that messing up, with others, does happen. If you want to talk about it, perhaps I can offer advice?" he tried, gently. He thought perhaps James felt the need to discuss it (he had brought it up, after all) but Pride didn't want to push the topic, either.

He glanced down, picking the stone back up with his own mind and hefting it carefully between them. He was reminded of a game he'd played with Azizos, when his son had been young, and one he'd played once before, if briefly, with James. "Catch?" he suggested, kind, gently, and tossed the stone up in the colt's direction a moment later. It was a light toss, one that would land well before actually striking James if the colt didn't catch, but the offer, at least, was there.

@James

James sighed softly and quickly tried to throw the rock back, testing both his concentration but his accuracy. It stopped in its tracks before being lightly tossed back to Pride, and it gave James a moment to think.

"... I feel all over the place," he mumbled, before speaking up a bit, "I find that it's... hard. Hard to get my thoughts in order, or even just trying to speak a sentence without basically rehearsing it, or I get lost halfway through. Especially now. And when I get upset it gets unbearable. I feel like I'm saying what I mean to say, but the words that come out don't make enough sense."

He shook his head, "And I feel hurt.
Really hurt. Because he... he said he understood. But he didn't! He doesn't understand how scary it was and how scary it is to try and be diplomatic- and I'm not brave!! I-I'm a coward and even if I'm trying to learn to fight, I don't want to hurt anyone! I just... I don't know. I don't know how I feel, and I wish I hadn't yelled at him for something he doesn't understand. Or that I don't understand."

@Pride

Pride listened, ears flicking forward as he watched both James and the in-motion rock. The foal, from what he could gather, lacked confidence: a nervousness that built on itself, reinforcing its own negativity. But...

"That isn't that uncommon, I think," Pride started, slowly, carefully. "Being unsure what to say, I mean. Confidence comes with experience, and young as you are, you haven't had the chance to build that up. Try not to think less of yourself for it; I certainly don't," he added, a kind lilt to his tone. He aimed to toss the stone back to James, in a gentle throw. It caught midair, and soared back in a slow arc.

"If this 'Ari' claimed to understand, but does not, then it sounds as though he lacks experience, as well. It sounds like a problem on his end; a lack of perspective. And James-..." Pride took a breath, shaking his head. "Not wanting to hurt others does not make you a coward. Perhaps we can focus on teaching you protection, without harm. Would you like to learn that? You could be the first; I know no one who has done this. Magical shields? Barriers? Blocks? You know, simply holding someone at bay with the very magic we're using is enough to protect without harm," he pointed out, still gently.

Until someone gives you no choice, he thought to himself, grimly; but that, he hoped, was something James would not encounter any time soon.

"I don't mean to belittle or diminish you by simply brushing away your concerns with 'you're young,' but you will gain experience with time, and no one expects a two-cycle-old Gembound to have the answers to everything. Questioning it is a good first step," he added, as reassuringly as he could.

@James