Water Bending

“Has he said one word to you guys yet?” Caspian asked, glancing between the strange party of dragons and vayrons.

“Not really,” Raveshk replied, seemingly unbothered as she looked towards the dragon they spoke about. Yggdrasil shrugged at the question, understanding but not caring that they were talking about him.

“It’s okay to be quiet,” Verbena noted, padding along up front, sticking close to Caspian’s side. “Better than being loud on nice days like this.” That was something they could all agree on at the very least.

The group had been traveling through the islands in the sky for a few days now, meeting the inhabitants and mostly managing to avoid the infection that was rumored to plague this land. They almost weren’t convinced that it existed, and if it did, it almost seemed like everyone here was worked up over something trivial, despite how awful they made it sound. The sky stretched above forever, and islands dotted their view, appearing so much smaller than they actually were. The breeze played softly through fur and webbed wings as it blew over the horizon, causing small ripples in the grass around the group.

“We’ll go for a few more miles,” Raveshk said after stretch of more silence as the group walked. “We might hit another town by then. If not, we can probably just stop for the night.” The others nodded. Infection or not, traveling after dark wouldn’t be a wise idea in an area none of them were familiar with. They’d make it to the next town at midday, where they’d split off into where their own separate journeys.

Caspian stopped, ears perking, and Yggdrasil walked up beside him, alert in the same direction as well. Caspian glanced over to him. “You seeing that?” The warden dragon nodded. Caspian looked to the Verbena and Raveshk, who’d continued walking in their original direction. “Guys, there’s someone down there.” The party stopped, everyone glancing to one another before joining the pair to look at what they saw.

At the base of the hill were two shapes, gryphons by the look of it. Neither seemed to be doing well judging by their posture; slumped over, feathers drooped. Caspian shivered, but looked to the rest of the group, who all seemed to have similar expressions.

Verbena hesitated. “Should we go down there? They might need help.”

Raveshk nodded, but Yggdrasil seemed to already have made up his own mind, starting down the hill at a pace that left the others in the dust with no choice but to follow. The gryphons didn’t respond as they approached. One was a brilliant green color with a single golden horn atop his feathered head, while the other was a faded blue with dark navy points at the end of his limbs. Notably, he had two sets of wings, too, a feature none of the travelers had seen before.

“Are you okay?” Verbena asked, leaning down to look at them both. 

“Water…” The green gryphon croaked out. “So… So thirsty…” The other didn’t respond verbally, but he nodded as well, eyes dull.

“Water, is there water anywhere?” Raveshk asked, looking around. Yggdrasil nudged her in the arm, and he pointed a few yards away, where several water plants poked up from the ground. Glancing from the gryphons to the pond, the party decided that was the best option. Even if the water wasn’t clean, it may still help.

Though, as they approached the pool, they found a new problem stood in their way.

“We can’t carry it back,” Verbena murmured. “And it might not be safe to move the gryphons.” Or even make them drink from something so deep.

Caspian frowned, pinning his ears, trying to think of something before Raveshk spoke up.

“What if we used magic to pull the water from the pond?” The dragon suggested, looking to the vayrons. “You both look like you could use water magic.” Yggdrasil nodded as though to agree, eyes brightening at the new idea.

“I’ve… never been able to use magic,” Verbena admitted, looking down at her paws. “I don’t think this will work.”

Caspian didn’t reply, staring at the pond. He could both feel a pull towards the pond of water. They had nothing to carry liquid in, and the gryphons sounded like they needed help now. The dragons seemed adamant that this magic stuff would work. Neither Yggdrasil nor Raveshk could command water, but they’d all heard stories of vayrons who could, especially ones with coats as blue as the sea like Caspian and Verbena were.

“Worth a shot,” Caspian said, squinting at the pond’s ripples. Verbena frowned, glancing at the two dragons. Yggdrasil nodded encouragingly, and Raveshk made a few gestures with her claws like she was conducting some sort of imaginary orchestra, mimicking a magic used honed on their craft. She wasn’t nearly as hopeful, until Caspian yelped.

“I’m doing it!” He shouted, slackjawed at the stream of water that flowed from the pond and hovered in the air. Verbena gasped, stiffening, watching with eyes wide. Caspian wiggled his eyes, and the water flowed with the direction. He grinned now, and Raveshk gave a sound of encouragement while Yggdrasil wore a satisfied smirk.

“That’s it! Just like I can use fire!” Raveshk called, practically bouncing on her feet.

“It’s easy,” Caspian said. “Somehow. You just have to think of it like it’s a part of you. You can do it Verbena; I know you can.”

Verbena hesitated, then turned back to the water herself. Focus like it was a part of her? It made no sense, though… She could feel something. She tugged for it, and something came loose from the pond. A stream of water, powerful and deliberate, came forth from the water, pausing in midair as she stared, stunned by her own ability. It was like a dream come to life.

“Come on! We should hurry!” Raveshk said, bounding away back to the gryphons, Yggdrasil on her heels. Caspian and Verbena glanced at each other before following, keeping their streams of water afloat until reaching the gryphons, who the two dragons helped position safely to drink the offered water, hoping they’d bounce back into a clear state of mind once their thirsts were quinched.