Steth jerked awake rather roughly when he heard something... A bird, singing. He shaked away the fog surrounding him and stuck out his tongue, touching the hole he'd bitten into it. It seemed he always did it when everything was quiet and relatively easy-going. Rolling the stiffness out of his shoulders, he leaned over the still pool of water. Without making much noise, he slipped in, vanishing with a flick of his tail. The water was clear enough for him to see what he was doing as he traveled to the bottom, running a hand along the white crystal that gave the pool its glow.

Though earth-dwelling snakes preferred to remain out of water in general, they could still swim, though not quite as well as their gilled counterparts. Once he discovered the item of most interest, a crystal clear instead of milky white, he broke it off from the rest and returned to the surface, pulling himself up through a mess of confused black hair plastered to his face.

Annoyed, Steth brushed it back. "Reptiles aren't even supposed to have hair." He growled, inspecting the crystal. It was perfect for what needed to be done. All he had to do was wait for Lyra. The caverns were naturally built in a large, winding circle. If she went one way, she'd eventually make it back to the cavern with the pool.

Steth's pointed ear twitched. Something had happened. He hadn't heard that noise in a long time, the sound of a human in pain. He dove through the cavern entrance and into the tunnel, searching about quickly for the source of the noise. It didn't take long. Through two more tunnels, he found Lyra on the floor and smelled the blood more easily than he saw it. With a flick of his tail to the wall of the cavern, he lit it up with bright blue ivy.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. Bending down, he lowered himself closer to the floor. "Let me see..." Steth lifted her foot, inspecting the source of the blood. It was definitely a deep cut, obviously having come from one of the stones near the edge of the cavern walkway that hadn't been eroded over time. He grimaced. "Maybe shoes are in order..." He muttered. "I've got a way to heal your foot. Do you think you can walk?" It looked pretty bad, the injury. Spanning the whole of the sole of her foot, and bleeding quite a bit.

Steth twisted his tail around, and lifted Lyra up. "We'll take care of your foot before we start your practice runs, okay?" He gave a reassuring smile, hiding his fangs. The ivy's glow lead back toward where he had been before hearing Lyra's distress call. While the water in that cavern was clear enough to see to the bottom and grew power-wielding crystal, it held a healing power that rivaled any doctor's remedies.

His protective instinct had sent him forward without a second thought. Perhaps they could be of other use. "The rock was probably one of the loose ones from near the edge of the cavern." He said, shaking the thought away. "I've never gotten too close to the edge of the cave when I go by, so they're still sharp. It's best to walk along the middle of the cave, and let the ivy light your way."

He moved into the cavern he left a moment ago, lowering Lyra down and onto the edge of the water, letting her feet hang in. The blood still dripping from the wound only momentarily discolored the water, before it faded, as though completely out of existence. Carefully, Steth watched the slash in the bottom of her foot become thinner, and eventually, become no more than a silver scar.

Steth leaned down to the water. Even as she lifted her foot from it, the surface only budged a little, and returned to its normal, mirror-smooth state. "This water can heal the most life-threatening of wounds, but it won't bring back the dead." He informed. "When you've injured yourself, submerge the injury in the water, and the crystals at the bottom will heal you."

He moved back and set the bit of crystal in his hand on the surface of the water. It didn't sink, nor disturb the water's surface. It stood on top of the water as if it were glass. "It's early. Do you still want to learn of your power?" Steth thought he knew the answer. Lyra was almost desperate to begin learning yesterday, but was too wary to be able to control them.

Steth nodded. "Okay, okay." He moved around to encircle Lyra with his tail. This way if she struggled she could subconsciously pull energy from him. "We'll start simply right now, with a cool power. For now we'll use a combination of powers: Yours, the gem, and mine. Before you can stand on your own and use your abilities without knocking yourself unconscious, you'll have to use a helper, me, and something to separate a specific power, the gem. Hold onto it."

He leaned forward, close to the water's edge and close to Lyra. "I want you to focus. Feel how cold the blue gem is in your hand. With your other hand, see your power. This one is blue, like the gem. Don't force it. You're strong enough to let it come as it wants to. Put your hand over the water. Will it to change the way you want it to. Make it freeze."

Steth smiled when he saw the water change. Although there lacked a bluish tone around the hand that changed it. "Very good." He muttered. "You'll take more energy to spread the ice, and at this point, it would take a lot out of you. For now, keep it small. If you focus hard enough, you'll be able to see the beginning of your power, an aura surrounding the hand you're controlling it with. This way, you won't have to rely solely on the outer power of a specific gem or jewel to help."

He touched the ice that had been formed, and it fell away to nothing. "See what you can do again. This time don't try to focus on the gem in your hand, but the hand that summons the energy. Flatten your hand on the surface of the water and it'll be able to exit through more than a specific point. It lessens the amount of energy you use, as well." he moved back a bit, giving Lyra room. She had vast power in her elemental abilities. With a little coaching she could perfect them within a matter of weeks.

It took a few moments, moments in which Steth watched Lyra fight back a powerful emotion. He reached forward to touch the thin sheath of ice the girl had managed to create without quite realizing it. "Your power relates to emotion." He observed. "Non-specific emotion, as long as they're strong enough, feeds your energy and strengthens your power."

He put his hand over the thicker ice Lyra made, and it melted almost immediately. "Find an emotion you're most comfortable with and let it ride along with you. Something you can sustain for an extended period without having to concentrate. It won't change the outcome of your various power, though. As long as it's strong enough, you'll be able to feed every one of your abilities with it until you can call on your power without much concentration."

He moved back. "Try it one more time. This time, try to freeze the entire surface of the pool. Don't let it go out of control, or you'll spend more energy than necessary."

He could almost feel the power behind Lyra’s emotional feed. It was very evident. As it spread, he kept himself back, withdrawing the influence of his own power. The spread of ice faltered and halted well more than halfway down.

“You did beautifully.” He said. “Especially for a first-timer. Don’t try to go over your present ability or you’ll put yourself down too quickly.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “You can take a break for now, okay? No need to knock yourself out.” He straightened up and moved back, toward the tunnel. “Do you want to go outside? It’s been a couple days, and maybe the morning air will wake you up a bit more.” He paused. “Just, er, keep to the center of the walkways to avoid the sharper rocks.”

Steth nodded. “Okay then, whichever you prefer.” He put a hand on the wall and it lit up. “There we are. Follow the glow and it’ll take you back to the room with the ivy bed.” He didn’t know whether to note it as her room yet. But it was the most comfortable for a human to sleep. He went off to let her find her way, going back into the aerated room to dispose of the rest of the goat Lyra had done a very good number on. He would stalk something smaller this time, to lessen the waste. Moving outside, he threw the rest of the goat down the side of the steeper mountain face, off to the right of his cavern’s entrance. It would be eaten by scavenging birds or larger animals. Glancing backward, he started up and slithered into the underbrush.

After Steth returned with a large rabbit, skinned and gutted it, and set up the stake above a renewed fire, he went back to the cavern that contained its many fabrics. He found a durable one and cut rectangles about the size of Lyra's feet. He recalled the size to within an inch, having examined the bottom of her injured foot not long before. Curled among the bolts and piles of fabric he plucked various scales from his own tail, slightly painful when they detached, but they would never go bad. With a bit of work, he managed to create durable sandals that would be able to form to the foot, and would save Lyra's feet from more injury. The leather based sole that saved her foot from contact with the scales would be soft and easy on the foot. He had lost a lot of scales in the make, but they would grow back.

He left the cavern and wandered back to check on Lyra. She was gone, perhaps on a search throughout the rest of the cavern. Without much idea where she went, however, Steth went off on a non-definitive look for her. Perhaps she would find all the other treasures he'd acquired and be more comfortable here...

Steth was more than happy with Lyra's abilities that continuously surprised him as they went on with their lessons into several months. He kept a steady flow of rain going to the village every several days, small showers that wouldn't drown their crops or create a flooded marsh. There came a day when he replaced the gems she used to help her power with useless colored stones, and yet her ability continued to mount with each day that passed, though she tended to tire quickly. Around the four-month mark, even her migraines became fewer and less severe.

An afternoon came when Steth was clearing a scheduled blanketing of clouds when a thought hit him... Lyra hadn't bee far out of the caves since she arrived. And she hadn't even talked about returning to the village, at least for a visit, or to stay, even. He quickly returned to the cavern system and found Lyra. "Dear, it's been quite a while since you visited your peers." He said definitely. "Would you like me to take you back, perhaps for a visit? I wouldn't doubt a wish to remain there now that you're free, but it's still rather dangerous on the mountain."

Steth nodded knowingly and led her to the mouth of the cave. From where they were they could see the village. "Of course." He said. "I realize homesickness befalls everyone from time to time." Even if they did give you to a monster... He shook his head. "Anyway, come along, we shall visit your family! I do hope they won't mind my presence." He added after the fact, as he led Lyra down the path along the side of the mountain. All the rain had really brought both the valley and the mountainside back to life. Everything was green and brown, dotted with various colors, and fertile.