ORIGIN

Envy nodded, seeming satisfied by the answer, and allowed themselves to grin despite themselves. Although the weasel would never admit it, they were enjoying this immensely, far more than they could have predicted. They were, for once, able to put the ever-present bitterness to the back of their mind, and genuinely smile. "Good. I'll show you what I know, then."

"That's right. I don't think anyone could do what I've done," they said, tail flicking as Pride spoke of hardship. "Everything just wants to kick me into the dirt, but every time it does, I get stronger. See?" As Pride spoke of only wanting to be as powerful as he could be, Envy tilted their head, seeming surprised. "Huh. Works for me," they said, tail flicking. "I'd have thought someone called Pride would only stand for being the best. Have you thought about that?"

Envy watched eagerly as Pride spoke of Energy magic, and offered all the standard warnings, the likes of which which Envy had heard many times before. "Yeah, yeah. Isn't that the same for a lot of magic?" Still, the story about the dog was a little bit sobering, and they made a mental note to be careful. Still, their eagerness swamped any trace of nervousness they might have felt. Envy darted away from the shockwave as it rippled out, sending a stone or two in their direction, despite being directed away from them.

They bounced and coiled excitedly. "Oooohh! Cool! Let me try now!" they tittered eagerly, seeming to forget the notion of demonstrating their own power. They rose up onto their hindpaws and bristled with the effort of tapping into their gem. They sucked in their breath, and then lurched forwards onto all fours in a single, fluid and dramatic motion. Their paws contacting the ground sent out the shockwave, which stirred up a small tidal wave of rock dust and sent pebbly rubble flying before them.

Magic thrilling through their paws, Envy pattered proudly over to Pride, looking up at him for a sign of approval.


"Speech."

Envy slowly nodded, ears twitching. "Well, yeah... I thought that 'Sin' had to be a bad thing. I mean... it means doing something wrong and bad, doesn't it? And Envy is... I don't know. It's not like I can help it. Do you really think envy is a sin?" The weasel seemed slightly dissatisfied, or perhaps simply bored, unused to speaking slowly or spending any length of time in thought. "...Each to their own, I suppose."

They immediately perked up as the deer went on to congratulate them on their efforts, and preened thair chest as they nodded vigorously. "That's right! I've been told I have a gift," Envy said, smugly, splaying their forepaws dramatically. They listened to the fawn's words, nodding slowly, though not quite taking it to heart. "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha."

They watched eagerly as Pride went on to demonstrate the next spell, settling on all fours. Their eyes glittered with daring and confidence, the fur along their spine prickling upright. "no worries, I think I got it," the weasel said, sucking in their breath and arching their spine in focus.

The magic prickled, humming and fizzling just beneath the surface of their stone, but, like mist, it drifted out of their grasp. Envy's tail twitched in frustration. "Gimme a second," they muttered to Pride. "Just... preparing."


"Speech."

Envy flicked their tail at Pride's question, brushing themselves with their forepaws. They shrugged, tapping a hindpaw impatiently. "I don't know. I mean.... how to explain. It's like the nice things people have punching you in the gut. But Reseda called it a sin, didn't she? and that's what confuses me." They looked up as Pride spoke of it causing displeasure and pain, and theyfolded their paws uncomfortably against their chest, shrinking down a little bit. "Well, it... does. But it makes me strong, too."

They looked at Pride, seeming slightly tense as the fawn tried to tap into his own magic, only to relax slightly as nothing appeared to happen. "Yeah, yeah, I got it." They blinked as they listened to Pride's explanation of... the air being wrong? and although they weren't sure, Envy jumped at the opportunity to place the blame on something other than their own incompetence. They sprung upright, nodding vigorously. "Yes, yes, the space! Of course it was the space. Why didn't I think of that?"

The little weasel dropped onto all fours and scampered off, some distance from the fawn, preparing to give the spell another go. They turned in a circle, fur along their length bristling, then rose up onto their hindpaws and sucked in their breath in preparation.

A shudder of power ran through their body, and Envy felt themselves trembling with potential energy, which was soon expelled in a violent shockwave sending a wave of dust and pebbles rushing away from them. Shaking out the remaining energy as the power subsided, they bounded back to Pride in a green-tinted blur, barely able to contain themselves. They skidded to a halt in front of the deer, and dropped to the ground, rolling briefly onto their back before springing upright, quivering and thrashing their tail.

"Speech."

Envy twitched and flickered, as their trembling gradually subsided and with it, the excess of energy that had surged through their body. They grinned smugly at Pride's question, placing a paw on their chest and giving a small bow. "What can I say? I'm a natural," Envy said, straightening up, with lilac eyes sparkling gleefully. They took a while to consider that, resting a paw on their chin, but found their attention soon drawn by a ravenous hunger gnawing at their belly. It seemed what little energy could be gained from grass was already spent. Their stomach let out a small growl.

Even though they watched Pride's pebble with a twinge of longing and jealousy, they had more important things to worry about, and slowly shook their head. After having been lifted by Pride themselves, they couldn't help but think of all the potentials; all the most powerful beasts of the cave lifted and held by such a tiny and seemingly defenseless creature, totally put to shame by their incredible power. It was almost too much to decline. "Hmmm... Later. I need to... Y'know... re-energize."

Envy looked around, mouth watering again, and lowered themselves onto all fours. Lowering their ears, they focused their attention on scraggly tufts of grass and moss growing nearby. But in their eagerness, the ability appeared to desert them, and they ended up scampering closer to the nearest tuft, coiling around and through them in desperation.

"Speech."

Envy tried again, their fur prickling in despair as hunger continued to gnaw at their belly, finally managing to force the floodgates open as magic fizzled throughout their body. A short sigh of pure relief escaped them, and the scraggly tufts of grass nearby withered and died almost immediately, the hunger completely fading for the first time in cycles. Finally, they looked back at Pride, awkwardly settling back on their hind paws and grooming their chest.

Had the deer been looking at them?

Envy felt suddenly uncomfortable, meeting their silvery gaze with eyes of lilac. They followed his gaze to the grass, and their eyes narrowed slightly. Finally, the weasel cleared their throat. "I'm going to go and practice magic," the weasel declared, flicking their tail. "If you need me, come find me. I'm a very busy weasel, but I'm usually somewhere in Orion."

They turned their back on the deer and skittered off for a few steps, only to pause some distance away, and turned their head back towards Pride, looking back at him over their shoulder. "Need any advice for the road?"

"Speech."