[Jaykobell]

When her brother had mentioned a volcano, Malka didn't believe him. Of course, she could believe that a volcano existed, but she couldn't believe there existed a volcano that you could actually visit. At any time, a volcano could erupt and engulf countless people in its flames. Burning your hands on a stove was nothing compared to the murderous heat of lava and magma. Even as she stood on one of the countless plateaus of the volcano, Malka couldn't believe this area was opened to visitors. It seemed the volcano was long dead, save for some areas, which still spurted some fire and lava. Fire was Malka's element — unknown to anyone but her siblings — and the chance to observe it from up-close was the chance of a lifetime.

Her short blond hair stood out against the browns, but it meddled perfectly with the fiery reds and oranges. The heat wasn't as bad as she had expected, but she had to admit wearing a sleeveless jacket could only help. The fluffy fur around the collar of her vest was enough to make her neck sweat, but she didn't mind that. Her pants stuck to her skin slightly, but she ignored that as well. Her attention was focused on the fire, on the small mouths that still spurted fire in arcs and splashes. It almost looked like water, but expressed with the opposite element. Miroslav had said that coming in close contact with your element could help you master it. For the sake of testing the theory, Malka used her hand in an attempt to control some of the fire in a deep crater. She used her finger to stimulate stirring, and to her surprise, the lava below began to spin into a circle, as if something were truly stirring it. As small as it was, it felt fantastic. It felt like this whole area was her playground...

As she was training to manipulate the flames around her, Malka suddenly had to cut her training short.



She turned around to see a Gyrophant, the creature's fur resembling fire, most likely from adapting to its environment. Gyrophants were timid creatures, but this one had probably been startled, or Malka had stepped into its territory without realizing it. The creature cried angrily, breathing fire from its mouth to scare the intruder away.

Of course, being a manipulator of fire herself, Malka didn't feel threatened by the Gyrophant. Time to see if this can help at all, she thought quickly as she used the fire around her to her advantage. Twirling her hands, she forced some flames towards the Gyrophant. The fire made the Gyrophant cry and step back slightly, but the creature huffed irritably. The flames had singed its fur, which was most likely somewhat resistant to fire. After Malka's act, the Gyrophant played its own cards and ran forward, its head lowered and ready to ram into Malka. Taken aback, the girl was hit head-on, and the Gyrophant sent her flying against a rock nearby. Malka hit the rock with a thud, and she couldn't help but groan from the pain. Ah, but she wasn't done...

[SkyWolf11]

.: Ruben :.

Obsidian.  He wanted obsidian!  Why couldn't it be something a bit more pleasant to find, like seashells or tea leaves?!  The older looking man, one looking of his late 20's, growled with displeasure as he wiped the sweat from his brow.  It was all he could do to keep it from his eyes, much less anywhere else.  His body was drenched.  Clearly, he wasn't one use to such hot climates.  Ruben had already shed his heavy winter coat and his second layer of clothing underneath since leaving the snowy caps of the Tuuns.  Now, he wore a simple muscle tee, grey and splotched with sweat ... naturally.  Oh, and his thick black jeans that could withstand the blistering winds of winter... but it wasn't like he could drops those as easily as a jacket.  So he would just have to deal with that annoyance as they clung smotheringly to his lower body.

He groaned again as he hopped from one large rock to another, repeating the process of crouching, moving some old black rubble around on the ground, then move up and repeat.  "Get the good stuff, he says.  Not just the easy ones laying about on the surface.  Oh no!  You gotta work for the good ones." , he mocked his teacher's parting words of wisdom to him.  He raised back up with only but a meager shard of snowflake obsidian.  With ashy fingers, Ruben rubbed the stone roughy before stashing it away in the satchel that was strung over his shoulder.  He attempted to wipe his hands clean by rubbing them on his jeans, but it did little good.  More growling.

He stepped off the rock and carefully stepped over a small trickle of magma that was in slow flow and walked further with eyes scanning the ground inquisitively.  But then the sudden sound of a loud cry caught the man's attention and he halted in his tracks.  He looked around curiously, not seeing anything out of the ordinary at first.  He shrugged it off, thinking perhaps it was just a natural sound from one of the many bubbling craters that littered the terrain.  But another sharp cry irked the Ancient's curiousity and he quickly moved towards the sound in question.  

It wasn't long before a most unusual sight came into his view.  A large red creature was up ahead in a plateau like area, thrashing around about something or other.  It was interesting for a moment or two, as Ruben wouldn't have thought anything could carve out a life is such a harsh place, but then again anything was possible, right?  He was about to leave when he noticed the beast's object of frustration.  A young girl, thrown against a rock.  Cue shock.  Good lord, what was she thinking messing with something so large?!  Did she have a death wish or something?!  Regardless, she looked to be in trouble, and Ruben couldn't just ignore that fact.

Shrugging off his bag frantically, he tried to think of something to do.  Get it's attention.  Get it away from her before it decided to crush her.  Anything!  His eyes fell upon a large rock a few feet behind the beast.  A smile crept to his face and he raised his hands, thrusting them hard at the rock with purpose.  It rocked slightly then slowly began to rise up into the air.  Ruben grunted as he tightened the muscles in his entire upper body and focus intently on the boulder.  Within seconds, it was hovering dangerously close over the Gyrophant's head.  Could you guess what was going to happen next?...  He released his invisible hold over the fragment with an audible "AH!" and stumbled backwards from the sudden lack of weight.

[Lvl. 1 -- 1]

[Jaykobell]

After hitting that rock at full force, Malka fell to the ground, with pain pulsing in her body. That thing! Out of anger, she breathed some fire out of her mouth herself, building up some fire within her. She felt warmth building up within, and she got ready to get back at that Gyrophant. She wasn't about to get beaten by that thing!

She was about to go right ahead, but then... she noticed something wasn't right. Her whole body suddenly felt different. She couldn't feel any clothes on her body, and it felt completely different. Looking down, she noticed... paws? She blinked, now confused, and when she looked at herself, she noticed that the shock of the impact had... done something to her body! Her mouth opened up in genuine shock. What the hell was going on?!

While she was busy trying to understand the phenomenon, she suddenly heard a loud panic-striken cry resonate. She looked around at the Gyrophant just in time to see the huge boulder standing dangerously above the Gyrophant's head, and the create had noticed it, too. Right then, Malka heard a loud, "AH!" from nearby, and with a loud cracking sound, the boulder landed square onto the Gyrophant's head. The creature cried loudly with pain and, concluding Malka wasn't worth all this pain, dashed away to retreat from danger.

With her heart beating quickly, Malka observed the scene where the Gyrophant used to be. That boulder... boulders don't float by themselves. Was it one of her siblings that had followed her all the way here? But none of them had control over ground or rock. Unless... there were yet more of them out there? Malka looked around until she noticed someone there, drenched from head to toes because of the unbearable heat. She now, she felt the pain in her body, and it was enough to make her flinch. Still, she didn't recognize that guy, so her first reaction was doubt. "You— Who are you?" she called, her fur bristling without her noticing. Ugh, she would have to explain this later.

[ Duuur, from human to Kuhna. 8U Go, Ruben, you can get yourself a girl. >8u ... Only thing is that, instead of a thank you kiss, she'll try to claw your face. 8D; ]

[SkyWolf11]

[Lawlz  8U  Finding love next to a Volcano.  How romantic~  xD  No!  Not his beautiful face!  D'8]

Recovering slowly from his stumbling, Ruben ducked behind a large rock instinctively as the creature let out a cry of pain.  Awesome, he had hit his mark!  All his training seemed to be paying off.  A few months ago, he'd never be able to lift something of that size.  His eyes trailed warily after the Gyrophant as it retreated and when it was safely out of sight, he jumped out from behind his rock and snatched up his bag quickly.

"H-Hey!  Are you alright?", he called out as he ran towards her, bag flopping around wildly at his side.  His pace slowed as he realized there was no longer a young girl there, but rather a Kuhna!  Now that he wasn't really expecting.  Slowing to a full stop, he raised his hands submissively when he saw her take the defensive.  "Whoa, I'm not going to hurt you."  His voice was a bit gruff but kind.  Without warning, his body began to glow with a faint blue aurora, then in seconds his form had twisted and molded into that of a Kuhna as well.  Only he was of a different breed.

Perhaps if she was to see that he was a fellow Kuhna, then maybe she would be more comfortable.  "And I'm Ruben.  It's nice to meet you.~"  He gave her a slight nod in greeting.  Flicking his tails cutely, he stayed put with a smile.  He didn't want to seem threatening by invading her personal space.  But at the same time...  His smiled faded and was replaced with a worried frown.  "Are you okay?  Do you need help?"  There was a concerned look about him and he tilted his head curiously, waiting for a reply.

[Lvl. 1 -- 2]

[Jaykobell]

The Flametip Kuhna narrowed her eyes when Ruben told her he wouldn't hurt her. The words brought back painful memories of those men who had said the very same words. As a child, she had found comfort into those words, she had believed in those words. She had genuinely believed that the scientists wouldn't hurt her, only because they'd said so. Of course, things hadn't turned out that way. Her fur bristled some more as she thought of those scientists and their filthy lies. And this guy, really, was no diff—

"Y-You...!" Malka took a few steps back when Ruben turned into the very same species of animal. It was unknown to her what she was or what he was; while they both looked like felines, they definitely weren't typical house cats. They were something completely different.

At least he'd answered her first question... for the most part. However, she wasn't going to reveal her identity to this complete stranger. "You... Are you the one who lifted that rock? What are you?" Her fur was still bristling, but not as much as it did previously. Still, the instinct was very awkward for Malka to control. "Do you... Do you know someone by the name of Schatten?" Her father, and the godforsaken man who had passed down his curse to her. If this guy could control rocks or use energy to lift things... perhaps he, too, was related to Schatten. That was the only conclusion the siblings drew whenever they met someone who could use something resembling their elemental skills. Magic, to them, was unheard of.

His second question, filled with genuine worry, was also ignored. Malka had other things on her mind beyond thinking about her injury. First, she wanted to know who this guy was. Afterwards, if she figured he could be trusted, she would think about letting him invade her personal bubble.

[SkyWolf11]

Ruben stared at her curiously as she spoke.  It seemed that she was a bit ruffled by what had happened.  Which was understandable, he supposed, but the danger was gone... wasn't it?  Though maybe he was coming off as more dangerous than the Gyrophant had.  Oh dear...

"Schatten?", he mused. That was a bit of an odd name.  "Nope, can't say I have."  Should he?  He couldn't help but wonder who this guy was now.  He seemed to be significant in some way to this girl, in any case.  At mention of his work, he straightened up and lifted his head proudly.  "And yes, I did.  Impressive huh?"  Orestes's warning of revealing his 'talent' to others outside of the loop would go unheard today.  He still didn't understand why exactly it was like taboo.  If you had a gift, why hide it?  Wasn't that what helped make people individuals?

"I'm of wizard folk.~", he mewed happily.  He raised a paw and wriggled his fingers at the talk of wizards.  It was funny what stereotypes people had for things~  Wonder if this girl knew of such people?  It would be nice to meet another magic user after spending so much time with just one old man and the occasional visitor.  He hadn't even noticed that she hadn't offered him her own name as of yet.  Perhaps she would later on ...

[Lvl. 1 -- 3]

[Jaykobell]

When Ruben assured he'd never heard of Schatten, Malka's expression turned to confusion. If the Ancient Kuhna didn't know about him, then he couldn't possibly be one of his children. This meant that Ruben had an elemental power... without being related to Schatten. And from the looks of it, the Kuhna didn't have a coin or anything, so the power was natural. This threw Malka's head into a spiral. From her point of view, this made absolutely no sense.

When Ruben explained who — or what — he was, it didn't help Malka at all. A wizard? What in the world was a wizard? Her expression now displayed both confusion and disbelief. "You're telling me... those 'wizard' folks can do things like that?" That was so surreal. None of her siblings could do something like lifting objects. The only one who could do that was Atarxe, who wasn't exactly part of their small family. Still, his psychic powers allowed him to lift and drop objects... but from the sound of it, there was more to that Kuhna than he let on. "Can they do things like this, too?"

When she asked that, she took a deep breath before breathing fire out of her mouth. The flame spiraled upward for a bit before it grew and took the vague shape of a fiery dragon. The fiery illusion roared before disappearing in thin air, burning as warmly and brightly as real fire. Although she usually didn't share her power with strangers, Ruben seemed to be capable of doing some sort of power... Either he would be freaked out and run away, or he would actually connect to her in some way. Either or, the warmth she'd built up in her inner sack had started to feel uncomfortable, so letting it out was wiser than keeping it bottled up. "Well?" she pressed after the little lights show was over.

[SkyWolf11]

The male wasn't surprised that she hadn't heard of wizards.  Many mortals did not.  And he nodded proudly when she had asked if all wizard folk could do the same thing.  Well, perhaps the younger students of the arts could not, as it took a great amount of study and practice, but he was sure it was a common ability that one could learn easily.  It mostly depended on strength in the end, really.  Hence why physical training was something needed to grow stronger.

Ruben nearly jumped back in surprise when he realized just what was flowing out of the female's mouth.  And even more so when it took shape of what looked to be a dragon.  She could breathe fire!  'B-but ... wait a minute...', he thought as gave her a look of confusion.  In his eyes, that looked to be magic.  Had she possibly lied about being one of magical blood as well?  Or ... were there other means of becoming of the 'talented' variety out there that he'd never heard of?  It was intriguing.~

"Yeah, some of us can.", he purred with a smile.  "Though I'm not too fond of actually breathing fire.  But I can do this!~"  Leaning back on his haunches, Ruben raised his paws up to his face and tightened them; it almost looked as if he was gripping an invisible ball.  Concentrating hard on the space he held between his paws, he began to speak.  However, he didn't make a sound; his lips moved as he mouthed a strange spell.  Soon, there was a blinding flash and a spark of fire formed from thin air in his hands.  He cupped them around the tiny flame as it grew to a good size.  He looked at Malka with bright eyes and a confident smile.  "See?  It comes in hand when exploring dark places.~"  He bounced his hand lightly and it bobbed up in down.  He wasn't able to shape it to his will like Malka had done, though.  

"But if you can do that then it means you must know some sort of magic.  Don't you?", he mused with a look of interest.  She had to of!  Breathing fire certainly wasn't normal.  The only logically answer had to be magic!

[Lvl. 1 -- 4]

[Jaykobell]

Perhaps she had been overconfident, but when Ruben told her some of them could actually do this, she was genuinely surprised. Just who were those wizard folks? How could they use elements like that, without being born from her father or without having an item to focus? Her head couldn't even begin to fathom how this was all possible. "Are you kidding me?" she asked when he said some of them could pull the trick off.

Just after she'd asked, Ruben pulled another trick up his sleeve. Malka watched as Ruben summoned a small ball of fire between his paws. Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed into a silent gasp. How was this possible at all? Malka had control over anything fiery, but she couldn't use or manipulate any other element, be it water or psychic energy. How could Ruben show the ability of using two clearly distinct elements? Once again, her head spiraled. This guy was definitely something else.

"Magic?" Malka echoed, tilting her head. She certainly had never heard of magic, so what was this guy about? "I don't know what you're talking about," she admitted with a groan and a frown. Malka didn't quite like admitting she didn't know something that seemed to be basic knowledge. She read so many books that when she didn't know something common, she gave herself a slap on the hand inwardly. "I don't know what your magic is," she went on, "but that's not what I'm doing. I was born with that power over fire. I can use it however I want. I can breathe it and summon it..." She narrowed her eyes and fell quiet for a moment. The thought of mentioning how she'd even been born with an extra organ for the purpose of fire-breathing had crossed her mind, she decided against it. She was going too quickly. "But I can't control any other element. How could you lift that rock if you can also summon fire?"

[SkyWolf11]

Okay, now he was confused.  She had never even heard about magic?  How was that possible when she could breathe fire?!  It just didn't make sense!  With a flick of his wrist, he dispelled his fire ball and stood, head cocked to the side.  His look read of confusion, frustration, and stubborness all balled into one strange mixture of facial movements.  

"That's not possible!  How can you not now what magic is when you clearly possess the talent for it!?"  Ruben, unaware he was doing so, inched forward closer to the female.  His eyes searched hers for signs of dishonesty.  But it seemed she was genuinely ignorant of what he was speaking of.  This was ... odd.  When she began to explain how it wasn't magic, it only further convinced the Ancient that it indeed was.  From how it sounded, she seemed to have inherited; a blood talent for it, so to speak.  Just as his was!  

"Controlling only one element?"  Interesting...  He had heard of those who chose only to specialize in one particular element, but this girl seemed pretty adamant about her view of it not being magic.  Normal people could not control the elements.  Not in the way she had produced, anyways.  It had to be a form of magic!  He was certain it wasn't an illusion.  Ruben was possibly as confused as Malka was at this point.  

Shaking his head, he let out his own groan.  "Being born with such abilities is often refered to as a blood talent for the arts, which is what it sounds like you have..."  His brow had begun to furrow slightly now as his stubborn attitude on his views flared up.  "And most wizards can do many things.  I've seen spells involving ice, fire, rocks, and even wind sometimes.  It's not too uncommon.  In fact, spells dealing with the natural elements of the world are pretty basic and are usually the first learned.", he explained, hoping to make sense to this obviously clueless female.

[Lvl. 2 -- 5]

[Jaykobell]

Malka's eyes narrowed when Ruben's tone changed. Why was he so adamant that she was using magic? She couldn't use something she didn't know about. He was calling her ability to use fire a talent? She sometimes referred to it as a talent as well, but she had to admit no one outside the family had ever referred to their powers as "talents." Still, Ruben's persistence was starting to become irritating.

When he inched closer, Malka stepped back some more, and her fur started to bristle some more again. She bared her teeth, and her overall pose indicated aggressiveness. If he tried to get any closer to her, she wouldn't hesitate to burn him to a crisp. This volcano was like an extension of her powers, and she wouldn't be afraid to use it to her advantage to shut that Ancient Kuhna up.

And the more he spoke, the more it felt like... he was calling her a liar? Was that what he was trying to get at? "I'm not one of your wizard guys," she repeated once again, insisting that she had never heard of his magic. "I was born with the ability to use fire. I was a toddler and scientists were already trying to find out how the hell I could breathe fire out of my mouth," she hissed irritably, putting extra emphasis on very specific parts of her speech. "I didn't learn how to use fire, my body was born to support the power," she added, her claws unsheathing without her consent. By now, she'd forgotten about the whole form accident, but this guy was riling her up too much for her to care. "Spill more nonsense about your magic, and I'll show you what I can do." The words were covered in a venomous warning, said clearly for Ruben's sake. Malka had always been short-tempered and hot-headed, and when people pushed her buttons, her temper went off fairly quickly.

[SkyWolf11]

The male's ears pinned back against his skull as she retorted with her own logic.  And when she became even more aggressive towards him, Ruben took on his own air of aggressiveness and let a low growl escape his throat.  Now, he wasn't the type to jump right into a fight, but he also wouldn't allow himself to be attacked without fighting back.  And he was more than capable of inflicting a significant amount of damage as he was certain he had more strength, power wise and in the physical sense.

"Yes, you were born with the ability.  That's blood talent!" he exclaimed.  In his mind, that was all there was to it.  The thought that such abilities were available to others without it necessarily being under the classification of magic was just not clicking with him.  This was probably why his master always wanted him to get out more.  Not everything hard to explain was magic, but of course he hadn't really realized that yet...

However, the mention of scientists momentarily took his focus off of the immediate topic.  "Scientists?", he mused, tail tips still flicking madly from the debate at hand.  He couldn't help but wonder why and how scientists had gotten involved with her and her ability to use fire, but he wasn't sure if that was a touchy topic or not so he didn't push it much.  If she wished to open that folder more though that was fine.  Until then...

Another growl escaped him as her insult sunk in.  "Magic is not nonsense!"  Now that was one of his buttons that no one should ever push.  He was taught to embrace the magic and feel no shame in it.  Calling such a thing that held much of his love over these many years nonsense was just not tolerable.  "If you want a fight, then I'll give you one, lady...", he growled roughly.  His fur bristled and he took a moment to flash his own canines threateningly.  TOh boy, this wasn't turning into a friendly meeting...

[Lvl. 2 -- 6]

[Rawr, sorry for the wait.  Dx;  Lameish post = second sorry.  o no]

[Jaykobell]

It seems that nothing she would say would make Ruben understand her situation. What was so hard to understand? It wasn't magic, it was an entirely different thing. And from the sound of it, he was also becoming rather irritated at the whole ordeal. From Malka's point of view, he really had nothing to be upset or irritated about; he was the one who just didn't want to understand!

"It's not a power someone else could use!" she hissed, trying once again to explain that it wasn't the same as being born with a talent. Everyone was born with the potential to cook, but the level of mastery in the field depended on the person. Still, everyone can pick up a frying pan and cook eggs. Malka's power, however, couldn't be used by anyone else. No one else — that is, unless they came from the same bloodline — could be born with her talent. "Unless they're born from my father, they can't inherit my powers," she stressed, voicing her thoughts on the matter, even though she had little hope Ruben would understand any of it.

Her ears flattened against her skull when he repeated the word scientists. However, instead of focusing on that — she really didn't want to go there unless she had to — she quickly attacked his aggressive comeback. Granted, she was dying to run these sharp claws across his face, but one fact suddenly sprang to her: she couldn't afford to fight this guy. Even here, with the magma and lava at her hands; that was a level of control she didn't master at all. Trying to pull it off when she was so frustrated could very well make the ability backfire. Not only that, she'd let a lot of heat build up to do that little show-off earlier, and she had no clue how to turn back to her original form. This body was so little that she had no clue how much heat it could handle.

Finally, she sighed irritably and glared at Ruben with narrowed eyes. "Okay, let me explain it to you as clearly as I freaking can. My body was born with an extra organ. It's a sack near my heart that is directly connected to my respiratory track so that I can breathe the fire out of it. It allows me to gather the energy and heat it up to dangerous temperatures. It's all about using my energy and the energy around me to create fire, and that resource isn't endless." She wanted to smack herself across the face for mentioning just how and why she could breathe fire. It wasn't something she revealed simply because of her past. It was that fact that had brought her so close to deaths so many times. "And I'm not about to risk killing myself because you can't accept it's not magic," she spat, putting a very thick emphasis on "killing myself." "Can your organs resist to such high temperatures? Mine sure as hell can't. So I'm going to repeat it one more time: it. is. not. magic." With the heat sack being located so close to her other vital organs, the extreme temperatures often pierced through the sack and affected her other organs. Being so close to her lungs and her heart, abusing her power was a one-way ticket to suicide.

As for his comeback about magic not being nonsense, she just let it sit at the back of his mind. If he couldn't see her logic, there was no reason for her to see his. It was as simple as that.

[SkyWolf11]

All through Malka's explaining, Ruben had retained a look of 'I don't believe you' about him, but let her finish.  It seemed these two would never see eye to eye on this subject; different people, different opinions.  It seemed unchanging.  It was a bit dampening that the female hadn't added on to the whole scientist topic as it had peaked his interest quite a bit, but there was more interest still in what else she had said.  

"Unless they're born from my father, they can't inherit my powers."  Now just what the heck did that mean?  Was her father a powerful wizard of some sort...?  No matter what she seemed to say, Ruben's mind constantly fell back on the conclusion that it was somehow magic.  His head began to pound with confusion.  He had never met someone who so strongly opposed his ideals...  Well, it wasn't like he met many people to start with, but still!  Were all mortals like this?  If they were, then he wanted to part in mingling with them!  

His mind quickly changed focus onto the other thing of interest she had said.  In short, about the fire sack.  "You have a fire sack?", he mewed curiously, his frustration slowly starting to change into interest.  "You mean like a dragon has?"  Ha, that was the closest comparison the poor male could make.  It was a start, right?  Though, dragons were still technically 'magic' in his book ...  Eh, what could you do?  A stubborn mule armored with a thick skull ... not a good combination.  

"And I don't know...?"  That organ's part confused him.  The way he operated, organs had nothing to do with it.  He couldn't exactly explain it ...  He knew you had to have a strong mind and a certain amount of physical strength but that didn't involve how strong your organs were ... did it?  Oi ...

[Lvl. 2 -- 7]

[Jaykobell]

When Ruben finally said something about the information Malka had shared, she felt like clawing his face to shreds. At least, his sharp tone had turned from frustration to curiosity, and she figured it was better than risking to start a skirmish. Still, it seemed like the guy still couldn't understand what she was trying to say. Would she need to draw him a picture? And she thought her twin was dense... but this guy had the cake, and he could eat it, too.

She gave Ruben a confused, perplexed expression when he mentioned dragons. How did he know about dragons? For Malka, dragons were almost like Gods. They were worshipped, and not everyone got to see one. That is to say, almost nobody got to see a dragon, ever. They lived in their own habitat, hidden and secluded, located in an area only a few handful of people knew about. While Malka doubted Ruben had ever met a dragon, she figured it was definitely possible that he had heard about them, if anything. "I guess. I've never met a dragon. But if you want to compare it to that." If it would make him stop saying it's magic, then fine. That comparison would satisfy her.

And then... he didn't know... what? She tilted her head to the side, giving him a perplexed look. "You don't know what?" The more they talked, the more she felt like she really would need to draw him a picture. "Okay, look. Imagine if you had a second stomach. In that stomach, you can store energy. The energy heats up to dangerous temperatures, and it takes the form of fire. Since it's directly connected to my respiratory track, it's like if I were breathing, but in reverse, which causes the fire to escape from the sack through my mouth." She couldn't think of a simpler way to explain it. For that matter she had no idea why she was explaining this... and why she needed to explain it. "You think people opened me up for nothing? They wanted to find out how that sack works, where it is, and how they can abuse the gene in my DNA that allows a thing like that to grow alongside the other organs in your body," she added, hoping the whole science bit to it would finally make the information go through his thick skull. It wasn't magic.