“It’s not a matter of trying.” Muse told Rae. “It’s a matter of believing- no, [i]knowing[/i].” he corrected himself, still attempting to explain the phenomenon. “You don’t see any flame, because part of you — probably a rather large part of you — still says it’s impossible. [i]That’s[/i] what’s stopping you.” he explained. “Think of it like… like the placebo effect!” he exclaimed. “If you take a pill that does absolutely nothing, but you [i]think[/i] it’s supposed to do something, then odds are you’ll still feel the effects even though the actual chemical make-up of that pill isn’t supposed to do anything. Same with a good-luck charm. If you believe that finding a four-leaf-clover will improve your performance in a test or a sports game you have later that day then it just might, despite the fact that a genetic anomaly in the clover population should have nothing to do with how well you do in math or basketball.” he explained. “The only reason a useless pill cured any sort of ailment or a weed allowed you to ace your math test was because you truly believed that these things could help you. If you didn’t believe that these things had any use, then they wouldn’t have helped you.” he elaborated. “Your powers in this world are like the placebo effect, only hugely amplified. If you really believe that you’re capable of firebending like a Nickelodeon anime character, then you will be. That’s why it worked on Callum here,” he gestured in the boy’s direction. “When I just told him, matter-of-factly, that he was capable of such things. Because when a doctor hands out placebo pills, they work a hell of a lot better when the patient isn’t aware they do jack squat and all the effects are just in… their head…” 

Muse trailed off a bit as he became aware of what appeared to be a large shadow stretching over them. Hesitantly, he craned his neck around and looked up at the source of it. Above them, a jet-black bird creature blocked out the sun, its long, toothed beak hanging open hungrily as its fiery red eyes targeted the group. “…Well shit.” Muse muttered at the sight of the impending danger, the creature’s talons twitching excitedly as it dived down towards them.