Ask what establishes the tendency's origin
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An innate ability in Mara's invented birds lets them count distant bell strokes from the moment they hatch, before any training. A predisposition in one fictional traveler draws her toward routes beside water, although the story does not explain how that inclination began. An inveterate tinkerer among her companions has adjusted the same lantern every evening for twenty years. Mara records these traits in a story notebook, distinguishing what belongs to an original state, what is an existing preference, and what has become a long-established habit.
The innate counting ability belongs to the rules of Mara's imaginary species, so a scene of later practice is not its only evidence. The traveler's predisposition influences her first choice of route without making a different choice impossible. The inveterate tinkerer sometimes promises to leave the lantern alone, but the repeated evening adjustments establish the persistence of his habit. During revision, Mara checks that each description has the right support and avoids treating any impressive skill as proof that it was present from birth.
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Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.