Mana and Magic.

"Alright Kid, I give, you must be after something. I thought you were just proving a point like a stubborn hatchling, but even I couldn't stake it out this long." He was still direct, but he seemed slightly softer around the edges, likely in confusion.

Aurore blinked in surprise. "Oh good, I thought I was in your way for a moment."

There was a moment of silence.

"There are flashier shows outside. There's no reason to start molding in here." Ullaries sat back on his haunches, the magic sigil fading away, and the last of the water he was moving falling into a tank at the back of the store.

"I think this is plenty flashy! I love watching people use magic, like, it took me a while to notice, but you often breathe in time with ripples on the water, and you tense or relax a bit when you're consolidating or spreading the water. That's pretty cool, I don't think I've seen another water mage do that."

"Everyone connects with their element differently, it's not a surprise. There's nothing particularly impressive about a mage having magic, now is there?"

"I find it tells me a lot about the mage, to see how they work. I'm curious about why physical movement, words, or even emotions seems instinctual or even necessary for some mages, and I have no idea what I will be like! Like, will my instincts be different with different elements? I don't know!" Aurore began tapping her paws in excitement, claws flexing and tail curling in. She was babbling a bit by the end, straining to condense down her worldview into something that made sense.

Ullaries squinted his eyes at her for a second. "You've never connected to an element, have you." It was a statement, flat and neutral.

"Well... no, but- I will!" Aurore felt somewhat hot under all her fluff, and she flared her ears even further than usual to relieve the heat. She wasn't just obsessed because she hadn't done it yet, plenty of Avilli put off choosing an element until schooling.

"Come over here." Ullaries' voice was almost indecipherable, but he was definitely intrigued.

Aurore was similarly curious now, and slightly giddy that she'd gotten that reaction out of someone clearly so... settled. She followed him to the tank of water at the back of the room. In a moment of her hesitance, he pulled her paw over the rim of the tank, dunking it into the water.

She let out a squeak, startled and displeased. She tensed, attempting to pull back for a moment before she realized Ullaries' paw had stilled.

"You're too analytical. You need to start. Do something."

"I-I-I can't! I don't feel anything but water!" Aurore muttered, frowning down at her submerged paw.

"You do, kid, everyone does, but you're too afraid of limiting yourself. Don't look for the right path, let it choose you."

Aurore took a deep breath. She wasn't sure she wanted to be a water mage! She felt a spark of  panic in her chest. Was that a sign? What was her? What was the mana? How was she even supposed to tell.

"...You're still thinking. Here, try this. Why do you like water?"

"I live in a desert. It's not often you get a drink without thinking about it." Aurore's snark sometimes snuck up on her when she was emotional, and she immediately worried he'd take it badly, but Ullaries simply rolled his eyes.

"Every animal needs to drink. Why do YOU like water? What makes it different for you?"

"Nothing! I like swimming and fish, and gardening, and a good oasis, just like everyone else."

"I hate fish. Keep going: why?"

"Wha- That's not-" She took a deep breath. He was a master in his element (ha), she should accept his advice for a moment. "I like finally washing the sand out of my fur because it's too hot and too rough, it rubs at my skin, and the water just washes through it, It seems so heavy, but then I'm light as my feathers. I like that when I go to the oasis, I can spread my wings on the water, and dive under it, and feel sleek and fast. I like... I like how when I'm in a rainstorm, I can't hear anything but water, and it's so dark out and I'm alone."

"There you go. That's you link to water. If you want to interact with it, you need to reach through that link. You'll feel it."

Aurore sucked in a breath, and yanked her paw from the water. "I'm good, thanks. Um, thanks for everything, you're very talented, but I have to go."

She grabbed the box of clearmint as she rushed out the door. She heard Ullaries mutter something but the rushing in her ears muffled it. She tried to wander through the town, like she normally would. She couldn't let her stupid fear keep her from enjoying a festival out here, but the rushing sound followed her around.

She kept finding herself drawing away from the center plaza and the main streets. Eventually, she gave up trying to explore, frustrated with herself. Where was she even trying to go? In a snap decision, she let herself walk ahead with no plan. It would be a pain to haul her cargo back later, but she clearly needed a moment of indulgence to clear her head.

After a stretch of time she couldn't parse, she found herself in a small cove. The sun was setting, casting harsh colors and shadows on the water. It was a beautiful place, with smoothed rocks on one side that might be a tide-pool, and sand sloping up to a cliff. There was a barrier of plants at the top, some even trailing into the cove, and it was impossible to see any of the town or ships from here. It had one steep entrance that she glided down, and the water was deceptively deep only a wingspan from shore.

It was beautiful.

Aurore relaxed on the sand, posture straight, head tipped back, and eyes closed. She listened to the waves hitting the shore, audible over the rushing in her ears that hadn't left. She imagined that they were one and the same, overlapping and combining the way waves always do. She let one wave rise up, picturing a tall spike of water, like a mountain on the ocean.

She didn't usually think these kinds of abstract thoughts, and she was humming under her breath, trying to capture the energy of her vision. When she opened her eyes, a small wall of water was waiting to greet her. It hung suspended, creating the last wall for the little cove, and quite literally drowning out the remaining light from the sun.

For a moment, she kept humming, some part of her unsurprised, probably the part of her that was aware she was channeling her mana.

Immediately after she really processed what was happening, her heart spiked, her humming taking a frantic note, filled with adrenaline, and then her literal bubble of solitude got popped, water plummeting down on top of her, soaking her through. She coughed at the saltiness, used to well purified water or sandy puddles, and by the Tree was it COLD. It was the middle of summer!

Aurore fled the cove, sand stuck to her paws, wings too heavy to fly, and still needing to drag her crate around.

She had connected to water! It was so surreal she stumbled when she realized it. She had moved water, felt it (a bit too literally), and even... heard it? Maybe? Now that she thought about it, it hadn't been the most pleasant of experiences, but still! It was exhilarating and horrifying to think about: she'd have to analyze everything when she got home!

Then, maybe she'd have to come back here later. Something had called to her here, presumably. She never got those kinds of calls, and she was determined to figure out what had just happened.