ORIGIN

"Huh?" Envy narrowed their eyes, blinking at Amras slowly. They seemed as though they were about to protest, but slowly forced a smile instead. "Don't push your luck, buddy," they said, with a touch of humour but an unmistakable flash of warning in their eyes. Their tail had begun to swish, fur settling along their spine before rapidly starting to bristle again. "Besides, the way I'm going, I'll be the one doing the taking down." Their eyes followed Amras' dismissive gesture and lingered on the swamp beyond him for a moment, before drifting back to the gryphon's face, so high above them.

With a disgruntled look, the weasel slunk over to the obsidian structure and once again began to climb it, finally popping their face out of the crotch between two spikes at roughly chest-height. They looked a lot more relaxed there, now that they didn't feel quite so short.

As they caught their breath, they did use that moment to listen to Amras' words, nodding slowly as the burning feeling in their chest slowly ebbed. They did seem slightly interested, rising slightly above the forced apathy they'd displayed earlier. "I've seen others use it. Imperia, you, and some crazy giant lizard in the waterfall room." They snorted, narrowing their eyes. "I thought it was only useful for smelling bad and making a mess of things at first," they said, wrinkling their nose. "But the more I thought about it, the more powerful it seemed. I mean, it's pretty hot. The smell comes from burning flesh, and that's... pretty metal."

"Speech."

Envy nodded, tilting their head slightly. "Hmmm." Envy muttered thoughtfully as they listened, still clinging to their smooth obsidian perch. Things seemed to be cooling down, and Envy was beginning to lose interest. Their gaze flitted around the area, almost entirely concealed in mist, before finally resting back on Amras' face. They grinned at his next words. "Don't worry. I've got it covered," they said, flexing their serpentine form as they began to slide down the structure's surface back towards the ground.

They perked their ears as Amras offered to let them train in this area, as if they wouldn't have done it without permission anyway. Well... actually, they probably wouldn't have, unless they'd known they'd needed it. Permission soured the fun side. They let out a chuckle. But training in the close proximity of water wasn't too bad of an idea, and they had to admit that to themselves. They paused for a while, knowing they they couldn't say such a thing out loud. That was weakness. "Psht. As if I need practice!" they scoffed. Then regardless, they bunched up their spine and sucked in a deep breath. Although their lungs ached as a momentary reminder of what could go wrong, they wanted to prove to Amras what they were capable of. As they reached the ground, they scuttled to Amras' feet and sat up again.

When they unleashed their breath, the air around their nose fizzled as the heat came into contact with the mist. The air trembled, and steam poured out of their nostrils as warmth met the chilly air. Though they felt the heat against the roof of their mouth, this time the pain wasn't so intense- in fact, it was mainly just the lingering ache from the last burn. They puffed themselves up, allowing their breath to run out before taking in a new one that was warm, but not blistering.

"Speech."

Envy nodded, watching the gryphon closely. "Yeah-yeah, whatever," they said dismissively, although they appeared to consider the possibility. The weasel coiled backwards, watching Amras' motions carefully. Then, after a moment's consideration, they tilted their head and muttered, "Sounds good." Jealousy burned in their gaze as they watched his wings open, but it was impossible for them to look away.

Just as their namesake would imply, the weasel watched and they felt their ego wilt as they were left alone again in the mist. how they wished they could do such a thing, open their fake-wings and take to the sky. Once again, they found their throat tighten around the toxic gem, and they thought wistfully for all the things that could be. Envy glanced one last time at the obsidian structure Amras had left behind, taking note of its shape and formation. They'd have to learn that, one day.

But right now, the silence felt tight around envy, the cold water around their paws chilling them to the core.

The mist felt suddenly constricting, and they were painfully aware of how small they were, even though they'd be little more than a toothpick to the cave's largest denizens. They'd prefer to be able to see threats coming when they needed to. Besides, they'd seen what they'd come here to see; Cetus.

Dropping their head, Envy scuttled away into the mist, leaving nary a pawprint to show where they'd been.

-exit Envy-


"Speech."