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The wind blew from the west. With it, came the scent of things Jijikko’s eyes had never laid eyed upon and mind could not begin to imagine, so he identified with them purely by the shape and flavor of their smells.

The smell of distant earth and stone which saw cooler, harsher winds and knew what it was to have life grow through it — this smelled full, gritty, and cool. The smell of green things he’d never seen or tasted which grew up amongst the distant mountains of the Terra Expanse as though climbing ever higher towards the same sky that loomed over him now — these smelled rounded, crisp, and almost wet in an unfamiliar way. The smell of people, Magescians who preferred to have less to do with society and more to do with themselves and the earth that provided for them — these were the most interesting scents of all, and Jiji longed every time he caught a whiff of them to see what gave shape to their smell. They smelled alive, complex, and every time vivid and distinct. Never the same smell twice.

Jiji snorted into the compact earth, stirring up dust and then sneezing when some of it blew into his nostrils. He’d wandered farther than he ought to have. Again. He could tell the general direction of his nest by smell also — a small, cut rock formation protected on most sides from the wind and sun and always filled with the aromas of home: father, mother, sisters, brother. He was just beginning to wonder if he ought to perhaps turn back towards said smell when his nose caught a hint of something else altogether.

Family and nest forgotten, Jiji plopped back on his haunches, nose up and wiggling as he sniffed, eyes shut. His tiny, so far useless wings flapped a tiny bit as though that might help him to discern the scent better and put a label on it.

When a crack of lightning sounded, Jiji tensed briefly. Kiandri dragons? But, he snorted in objection, this didn’t smell like a dragon. It was off. Different somehow. More like…

He blinked his wide eyes, stubby tail swaying a bit from side to side as he moved back onto all fours to waddle towards the smell. More like himself. More like Mother and Father and his sisters and brother. Jiji edged in on the source of the smell carefully, dipping his nose closer to the sand on occasion both for tracking purposes and to avoid the occasional harsher gust of sand-dusted wind. He lost complete track of his mental compass for his own nest in his curiosity, focus pinpointed completely on the root of the new smell. Then, there, Jiji blinked, stalling and lingering behind one of the Malro Desert’s many towering stacks to watch in relative security as the creature — definitely his kind — worked her magic.

Sandy colored skin, like the desert itself, and proud wings. She didn’t look to be fully grown yet — not as big as Mother or Father — but she clearly knew a thing or two about magic. Jiji stared, fascinated, for several long minutes. When the fellow drakein called up her magic again though, gathering it and sending into another streaking pillar of electric energy, Jiji wiggled his wings, unable to resist the urge to call out: a squeaked croak of a ‘roar’ that attempted to mimic her fierce technique with little success.

Jiji gave a quick, startled yip of sound at the off-course lightning bolt and then the growl from the unfamiliar keindred. When she settled, however, lowering her snout to the ground with a curious sniff, Jijikko relaxed a bit, unfurling from his curled position and stretching his wings out again, raising his nose high and sniffing again himself. He didn’t understand the sounds coming from her, precisely, but he understood the curiousness in her smell, stance, and tone, and took these things as an invitation to approach.

He made several more squeaked attempts at babbling as he toddled over, nudging his snout against hers and swishing his tail before hopping excitedly in an attempt to ‘pounce’ on one of her front feet. He made a soft, cooing ‘growl’ as he did so, wondering if this keindred could be convinced to play like his siblings.

Jiji gave a rumbling purr of pleased excitement as the keindred took several steps back, her magic rippling to life around her. He pawed at the sand and then wriggled low, several nearby pebbles trembling with his own magical energy — unbeknownst to him — as his enthusiasm got the better of him. One, two, three, times he snorted at the ground, feeling its warmth at his belly and then charge — the term ‘charge’ being used quite loosely in this instance.

He took several clumsy bounds towards the other drakein, his wings flapping fairly uselessly in an attempt to speed himself up as he aimed to get behind her and catch her tail.

Jiji gave a low peal of sound when the other drakein leapt out of the way, but wasn't to be deterred in the least. His young eyes darted, fascinated over her crackling skin — alive with her magic — and he gave several excited yips, before diving in towards her again.

They played this game for some time, Jiji endlessly fascinated and his playing partner amused and patient with his childish antics. The fun ended only when Jijikko's mother, stern with worry, discovered where he'd run off to and apologized to his 'playmate' for any trouble he might have caused before carting him off.

Little Jiji, however, would remember the experience fondly and dream that night of his drakein friend with the lightning magic — just like his mother.