“K-Keshry?”

The smaller deepborn and I pulled apart and turned our heads as one to look over at a wide-eyed Destrien.

“Yes?”

“You…you had Innate Abilities before you got your Gem?”

“Mhm. One of them.”

“But that’s—” Destrien sputtered, seeming to lose the ability to speak for a moment, exchanging an incredulous look with Reve. “You’re going to be a dragon, Kesh. How is this the first I’ve heard you say anything?”

The little deepborn’s entire body tensed, her slowly swooshing tail coming to a sudden halt. She glared at Destrien, her tone uncharacteristically sharp. The air in the cave chilled.

“I will never be a dragon,” she said. “Don’t ever say that to me again.”

Destrien blinked.

“I…alright. I’m sorry?”

“I forgive you,” said Keshry.

I looked from one to the other of them.

“I have no idea what’s going on. Kobolds can become dragons? Really? Only kobolds that have powers before Gems, or…?”

Reve scoffed around their mouthful of meat, chewing faster as if they meant to answer, but Destrien beat them to it.

“It takes ridiculous amounts of time, Gems, and Favor. Not every Ascended had powers before their first Gem, but—” he flashed a glance at Keshry, lowered his voice. “Every single kobold to exhibit Abilities pre-Gem so far has Ascended. But it’s still a choice,” he added hastily. “It’s not as though they had to or anything.”

I was desperate to know more, but Keshry was already pouting, and I had other pressing questions to address before I potentially became too distractible to ask them. It was growing progressively colder, but the other deepborn seemed to need her space. I was sorely tempted to lay flat against the stone to soak up as much heat as I could, undignified though it would look.

Screw dignity, I’m cold.

Snatching up the bit of mangled monster skin I’d dropped earlier in my panic and tossing it to Scruffy, I gave in to temptation and spread myself out over the warmth of the stone. Resting my chin on my folded arms, I peered up at Keshry and Destrien, deliberately keeping Reve out of my line of sight.

“So, what is an Opal’s power, exactly? I’ve just got bits and glimpses here and there, and all of it’s confusing.”

Destrien laughed, Reve sneered.

“Oh!” said Keshry. “It is so strange to think someone might not even know that.”

I scrunched my nose.

“Thanks.”

“Your Innate Abilities are Aetheric Insight and Reflect," said Reve.

I finally looked their way.

“Aetheric Insight means that you can tell what a person’s Gem and Abilities are just by focusing on them, and you're able to innately understand the visual language of sigils. And Reflect…you have already used on me once,” they scowled at me.

“But I can’t see anyone’s Innate Abilities until they’re actively using them, I think,” I argued. “And Reflect is just, what, I can use a person’s Ability back on them?”

“If it’s in use and they’re within range, yes,” replied Reve. “And the amount of information your Aetheric Insight gives you up front will increase with time and favor.”

I twisted my lip-things, considering the skyborn. Wondering why they were being so helpful.

Oh. Ooooh.

They’re one of those people who can’t not answer a question on any subject they’re interested in…so long as it doesn’t hit a sore spot, at least.

Another jackpot.

I tried to repress a sudden grin. But I think Reve must have caught a hint of it, because their pupils narrowed drastically and their tail twitched at the end. They finished their meat, chucking their own strip of skin over to our resident garbage disposal.

“So…what other sorts of things might I be able to do? What are subtypes?”

“They are different variations of your Gem type,” piped up Keshry.

“And each one has its own properties and Abilities it can potentially unlock,” said Reve. “The majority of Opal Abilities involve replicating and making use of the powers of others, both in action and in sigilcraft.”

They spoke with the begrudging air of someone who simply could not stop themselves.

“Yes,” said Keshry. “You are the sigilcrafters! It is why you are better at recharging them than us.”

“Spell thieves,” grumbled Destrien.

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“I feel like I should be offended,” I said.

“He is just jealous,” said Keshry. “Opals are somewhat uncommon.”

“Oooh, I’m special.”

“Somewhat special,” said Keshry, grinning.

Reve rolled their eyes.

“That’s one way to put it.”

Refusing to take their bait, I blurted out my next question before I could change my mind.

“Soooo, what’s up with um,” I swept my hand around, indicating all of us. “Kobold…er…breeding types? Is that what skyborn and deepborn are? Are those like, your genders or your sexes?”

“Sexes” simply didn't translate, and the word that came out for "gender" seemed to encompass a multitude of meanings.

Each of the others gave me a different look, Keshry tilting her head while Reve puffed up with affront and Destrien seemed to be withholding another laugh.

“And um, what else is there? Because when I smell you all, I get the very clear sense that some are he or she or they,” I indicated them accordingly. Neither “he” nor “she” really translated precisely, and there were actually two types of “theys” I’d been able to discern so far. But neither had a satisfactorily distinct parallel in my thoughts.

“And they don’t seem to have anything to do with whether you’re deepborn or skyborn or what your, er, setup is,” I waved a hand around a bit again, indicating chest and crotch. “Are my smell assumptions even right?”

The others exchanged glances again.

“That is a lot,” said Keshry.

“You don’t even know Kinds yet?” blurted Destrien.

I raised an eyebrow-equivalent at them.

Reve took a deep breath in through their mouth, exhaled through their nostrils.

“There are four Kinds. Birth type, breeding type, gender, and Gem. Birth type is determined by the elevation at which your egg was kept and hatched. I should think the differences between the two are obvious.”

They stopped to sneer, but only briefly. They were immersed now in the flow of information.

“Skyborn are bigger, stronger, and possessed of flight. We become winged dragons, free to the world and to the sky. Deepborn are smaller, possessed of slightly more mana and of Moons which boost it further. Their Ascended become dragons rooted to the earth.”

Destrien, finishing his own food, shivered and scooted closer to Keshry. Who scooted closer to me.

“Your breeding type you choose when you come of age for it, and determines whether you put forth eggs or seed,” Reve went on.“Your Gem chooses you, not long after that, and determines the paths of power open to you. Which I think even you know by now.”

I huffed.

“And your gender…” they actually hesitated, again using that word which didn’t quite match up to the concept. A very complicated word with a lot of hissing. “It is…a large part of who you are, beyond your physical self. Your essence. We display it through scent, changing it if we change, and if you are smelling it wrong, there is something wrong with your sense of smell.”

As they finally concluded, I just sort of stared at them.

“I…uh…that’s a lot.”

“Only to one who knows nothing,” said Reve.

“Right. Well, thanks for the rundown.”

They glared at me, and then I was the one rolling my eyes.

“Fine! Whatever. I don’t thank you for the rundown. I retract my thanks. I’m sure you did that entirely for someone else’s benefit.”

“My own, actually,” said Reve. “The more I talk the less I think about how strongly you’re starting to stink.”

“Stink?” I narrowed my eyes at them. “You said I didn’t smell terrible, which coming from you is basically the equivalent of someone yodeling compliments at me from the world’s highest peak.”

They wrinkled their wolf-like nose.

“Any smell is a stink when it’s strong enough.” Brushing their hands off on one another, they rose to their feet. “I’m going to watch for the end of the rain.”

My eyes seemed to follow Reve of their own accord as they loped off and up the curve of the tunnel, admiring the way the faint light painted the edges of their figure. I hadn’t noticed before just what a beautiful shape they had, all tapered waist and broad shoulders and a subtle flare at the hips. And their scales…

Stop it. Stop it stop it stop it.

I don’t know if it was the meat, or just having been cooped up for a bit in a body that wasn’t used to it, or maybe even the boost in mana I was supposed to be getting any time now…but I was starting to feel energetic. Very energetic.

At first I was reluctant to peel myself away from the warmth of the floor. So I lashed my tail rhythmically against the stone, then eventually began to roll side-to-side for a bit before launching to my feet and pacing the length of the cave.

Faster. I need…to go…faster.

Oh shit.

I have the zoomies.

Deciding I should heed Keshry’s words, I practiced some willpower for once and resisted the temptation to all-out ricochet around the cave. It helped that I was highly aware of my companions’ eyes following me up and down the chamber. But one good thing about pacing very quickly was that it allowed me to stay warm as the air wafting down the tunnel grew increasingly frigid.

It had become quieter too, somehow, despite my ceaseless footsteps and the chatter of the others.

Wait…did it stop raining?

Whirling on the spot, I bolted up the tunnel. A shiver traced down my spine as I inhaled a fresh gust of Reve-scented air, and I slowed to compose myself. Taking very shallow breaths, I continued…stopping a pace away from where the golden kobold stood at the opening, staring out at the snow. Snow.

Oh hell yes!

A little gasp of excitement escaped me, and I hurried forward, already reaching out, determined to catch snowflakes. But Reve flung out an arm, blocking my path.

“It’s still acid, idiot krada,” they growled.

“Acid snow is a thing?”

“Of course.”

I huffed, peering over at them.

“Nice of you to stop me.”

They bared their teeth, tail whipping against the tunnel wall.

“I didn’t want to have to deal with your screeching when you came hobbling back in here with burning scales,” they said.

“Mm. Yeah. Makes sense,” I said, rubbing my chin as they scowled down at me. But I looked away from them, gazing out at the falling snow.

Acidic or not, it was lovely. The sky was a soft gray, the sun entirely hidden behind an even blanket of clouds. And now that I was standing beside Reve rather than downwind of them, their scent actually wasn’t as overwhelming. They tensed beside me, and when I didn’t budge, they sighed angrily and turned, retreating back down the tunnel.

Huddling up against the wall, I sat, just staring out at the snowfall as it grew thick enough to obscure all else. The burst of energy had died down a bit, and I was enjoying the clear-headedness that came with being unable to smell any of the others.

What I wouldn’t give for a hot peppermint mocha right now.

My ears pricked. There was movement through the flurry. A sphere of whirling snowflakes, progressing up the rise of stone and into full view like a bizarre tornado with something shining at its heart. The wind pushed its scent my way, and I froze.

What the fuck?

My nostrils flared, my fur raised on end. It was a deeply, undeniably skyborn scent, something that drove itself straight to the core of my kobold instincts. Something that called to me. A scent of storms and open sky. Untouchable. Almost unresistable.

I pressed my foot-pads hard into the stone, letting the subtle pain of it ground me. Focus split between the stranger and resisting the insane urge I was feeling to sprint out to greet them.

Glyphs glowed into view.

1Gem Diamond

(Innate Elemental Affinity: Air)