[ COMPLETED ]

Ahti scavenged across the ruins slowly. This wide open space looked in no way claimable for a pack, and as such, smells of lone wolfs were sometimes carried on the wind but none fresh. He was scouting the city ruins however, thinking that perhaps this was the best way to rule out other packs living here that could pose a threat to Zanali. After all, Trangl and Rem had gone missing both since last morning. He had thought that the both of them were hunting, but they hadn't come back yet. He did not want to worry about it too much, but if there was any threat coming from within the city he should know. After all he had now met a wolf without smell which had frankly been disturbing.

Several metal structures and pieces of glass, cloth and leather lay around the area around these strange ruined caves. The zoo was definitely the greener place to live, and the most natural looking. As Ahti walked further, a gust of wind whipped up some sand and he stepped sideways to protect his eyes from it.

Pain rippled through his body at that, as one sharp piece of metal cut his hide open. He grunted and loosened himself easily, but blood was already showing and he could feel it drip out of the wound. Better than last time when he'd been wounded, even. Instinctively, the water mage pulled back on his own blood, stelping the bleeding quicker than usual. He stared at it, the small cut drying up and leaving only a small puddle of blood where he stood. It was still messy, but he was right now just trying to figure out exactly what had happened.

@[Ahti]

Tallu was drawn here for many reasons. The scents on the wind brought her news, the news of a new area that the Di'shei had not yet explored. Faint remnants of wood and another, sharper chemical smell drifted on the breeze, faintly mingling in with her own. The pale wolf wandered into the suburbs, her red eyes peering up at the tall ruins of what she was told were called "houses". What on earth a house was, she wasn't quite sure. It looked almost to be a dwelling of some sort, but by the looks of them, nothing had ever lived in these things. And why were they all so evenly aligned? It was so... unnatural. Unsettling, the wolf found.

Traveling along, another scent found its way to her nose. Another wolf was here, and the very faint, coppery scent mixed in with it immediately told Tallu that someone or something was injured. Ears raised and tail up, Tallu set out to find the source. If someone was seriously hurt, she could be their only hope. Tallu hated the idea of being responsible for one's death or demise.

The scent of both wolf and blood grew stronger as the Di'shei found herself approaching one of the large dwellings. Strange metal walls surrounded some of them, rusted and some with large holes ripped through them. They didn't appear strong, but if she stumbled, she could end up stuck in them. The scent of blood grew stronger, but suddenly... it stopped, along with Tallu. Where had it gone..? Blood couldn't just disappear like that... could it?

Tallu stepped along again, the scent of wolf growing stronger with every pace until her eyes fell on its source. A turquoise-coated Di'shei stood, a small puddle of crimson near him. That had to be the source of the copper scent. As she approached him, the smell of wolf changed to that of a river, faintly of earth and a cool brook. Tallu's ears flicked, interested.

<b>"H-hello!"</b> Tallu barked the greeting, but it was a bit sheepish. Her tail rose and began to swing, signalling her intentions. A worried expression crept onto her face as she noticed a small wound in the male's side. <b>"Are... are you hurt?</b>

The aqua mage blinked again at his own doings, then shook his head. He was still trying to cope with the whole idea that he could feel his own blood flow and his illnesses and injuries and now this happened.

A female di'sheian scent filled the air, which somewhat reminded him of a beginning thunderstorm. As he looked up, a light pastel lilac female indeed made her way to him. Her - also pale - red eyes did not fit the pastel theme, but then neither did yellow or vibrant green. She asked if he was hurt. That was actually a hard question.

"I was... but no longer I think. I have discovered that I have more than one magic in this world and it allows me to manipulate my own blood, it seems." His tone was uncertain and puzzled as he answered so, looking back at the female. He'd never seen her before, he knew.

The stranger answered her question quite directly, but his actual reply confused the Di'shei. Did he not know if he was hurt? Her eyes fell to the small pool of blood, tracing back up to the possible location of the wound. Tallu's ears flicked with interest, the female sitting back on her haunches.

<b>"That's... strange."</b> Tallu briefly recalling learning of a sort of healing magic, and perhaps that was what this male spoke of. <b>"Can you heal? I've always found that really interesting."</b> Her eyes traced over his visage, drinking in the bright colors of his pelt.

Noticing that she was staring quite rudely, Tallu cleared her throat, realigning herself in an upright position. Her tail thumped lightly against the ground, a smile finding its way onto her muzzle. <b>"My name is Tallulah. But you can call me Tallu instead."</b>

Ahti saw that his own confused reply puzzled the female as well. "I'm sorry for not being more clear. I wish I could be, but I'm rather confused about it myself. I've not yet found anyone with the same magic so I'm learning on my own." he added, hoping to be more clear now.

"This then, is not the same as healing, which I now something about as well. I could show you but no healing plants are around. This, I call blood magic, and feels quite a bit related to the water element. Perhaps it has grown stronger when I trained more in the water magic as well. Speaking of which, I am Ahti and I usually call myself a water mage; but perhaps here I can learn more magics than one. Do you know something about magic? Do you have an element to call yours?" He talked more in one breath now than he usually did, but perhaps he was still startled by his new findings.

The male spoke again, and he explained that he himself was just as confused as she. Tallu blinked, trying to figure out what kinda of magic he could have possibly used.

The male continued speaking, this time questioning his own magic and what it could be. He explained that he considered it 'blood magic', and this idea greatly thrilled the Di'sheian female. Ruby eyes growing wide with interest, she listened intently, soaking up every word in her mind. He introduced himself as Ahti, calling himself briefly a water mage.

As Ahti spoke the words 'water mage', Tallu was instantly brought back to her childhood pack. Her mother and father used some sort of magic, many times it involved water. Could her parents have been water mages as well? And more importantly, was this an inheritable trait? Could she have her own inborn magic?

Ahti asked if she possessed any magic of her own, and her brows raised in uncertainty. <b>"Honestly? I'm not sure... my parents were water-born, I believe. They've always controlled the water element... but could it possibly be inborn..?"</b> Her gaze looked upon Ahti's face as she trailed off, but her mind was elsewhere. Had she ever used magic before? Surely she had... maybe her parents had shown her once before.

<b>"I've got to at least try. No harm in trying, right? Aheh."</b> Tallu spotted a glinting spot on the ground near the pair; a puddle was settled into a small hole near one of the metal structures. She trotted over, tail level with her back as she looked into it. Tallu fell into a deep focus, one that she nearly had no control over. Why was she focusing? What exactly was she trying to do? No matter. Her concentration grew stronger, her eyes pinned on the puddle, brows furrowing with the struggle of concentrating. Her head began to ache, throbbing near her temples.

SPLASH.

The puddle had moved. Not much, but she had managed to swing a small wave of water up and out of the puddle, muddying another area right next to the puddle. Her focus immediately disbanded, and Tallu stood, unaware of what she had just done. How had she done that?! All she did was focus! Tallu immediately looked to Ahti, eyes wide with confusion. <b>"Was that... magic?"</b>

The female seemed very interested in his words, but her ears perked even more when he said he was a mage of water - well, besides the blood then perhaps. She was, as she said to his question, unsure of having magic but said that both her parents had had it. As far as he knew that gave her a high chance of being able to control the element as well, as she speculated. So he nodded. "I do believe it can be." After all, both his sons had had the water magic too.

Tallulah did not really seem interested in talking any more, though. Instead, she went on to try before he could say anything else. She sure was eager to learn. He shrugged, and followed her to the puddle that she had found, immediately sensing that whatever she was doing was indeed water magic, even before her focus brought her to move the droplets. He nodded when she spoke again. "That certainly was. Yours even, as far as I could determine, and water magic as you had thought earlier that you had. If you'd like, I can show you some more and give you some exercise with the fluid element?" After all, even if he had discovered the blood magic, that made him no less a water mage.

Her mind was still reeling in from the successful use of her magic, but unfortunately, the Di'shei's head began to ache. Tallu had gotten too excited and nearly forced herself to try it out, and in the process may have done some harm unto herself. She looked to Ahti, who was informing her that she had, in fact, used water magic. Ecstatic, Tallu bounded up on her front paws, tail swinging wildly. <b>"I did?! Wow! I've never done anything like that before!"</b> The ache in her skull returned, and she winced slightly, looking at the male with one closed eye. <b>"Heh... I think I used it a bit prematurely though. Oww."</b>

As the male continued to speak, he offered her a chance to learn from him. Tallu's grin spread across her face wider than she could manage, her teeth sticking out and glinting in the pale sunlight. <b>"Yes, yes! I'd love to learn more, Ahti!"</b> A possible teacher? How exciting!

Ahti nodded, concerned but on the other hand she seemed okay to him. "Can't be anything too heavy, your blood feels just fine and healthy to me." He flapped that out without thinking. It was just something that he somehow knew.

At his proposal, she was excited as well. He smiled, and pulled out a sphere from the puddle. The orb was round, and he just held it out to her like he had done with Trangl not too long ago for the first time. "You can start by simply feeling. Water is changeable but likes rounds shapes best, like droplets. However, inside the droplets are currents as well and it is those that you need to pay attention to. You don't need to focus very hard to only feel inside. Can you give it a try? If you've found it, try give it a small push and see how the currents react." Since she had just used pure energy to move the water, he thought this would make for a better approach.

Ahti spoke of her blood condition, and Tallu blinked. Could he sense <i>her</i> blood, too? Intriguing. She shook herself out of it, the pain now beginning to fade out of her skull. If Ahti was offering lessons, Tallu had to focus on his teachings and follow them carefully. A little headache couldn't stop her.

Amused and ready to learn, Tallu watched with astonishment as Ahti lifted a perfect sphere of water from the puddle, its surface gleaming and wavering ever so slightly. He began to speak, and while her eyes were fixated on the sphere, his words were clear in her head. He spoke of currents, and of the round shapes that the element favored. He gave her a small task, to push the sphere and observe the reaction.

Focusing again on the sphere, Tallu felt the ache begin in her head again. This time, however, it was much duller and much more tolerable. She kept this focus steady, not allowing it to waver as the sphere moved with her mind. It was pushed from the left side, sending waves across the sphere's surface and deforming it momentarily. She watched, taking note of how it reacted to her push.

Looking eagerly to Ahti, she grinned. <b>"It moves away from what pushes it, but... it does have a current. If I disrupt the current..."</b> Tallu focused again, aiming a very gentle push on the other side, causing the waves to scatter frantically and the entire sphere to nearly vibrate. <b>"... it reacts differently. If I break the current, the force sorta... scatters."</b>