ORIGIN

The healing process had been tedious and long, and, if Envy dared say it, humiliating. But at least the pain of a few broken ribs had taken their mind off of the self-pity they'd felt following the battle in Eridanus. They'd for a time tried to avoid being seen, even by their kingdom. But they had always remained near to their beloved throne. Always, they watched and listened even as they kept to the shadows in brooding melancholy.

They were sleeping when Pride called, his familiar voice sending a rush of nervousness and excitement through them, and for a second they considered not answering. But after a moment, they forced themselves to their feet, sucked in their breath and tried to soothe the sharp pain in their chest with a pulse of magic. Almost immediately they felt their pain melt away, as wounds began to inch just a little further on their way to healing and fractured bones began to harden once again. Encouraged, they lifted themselves shakily upright, straightened their crown and laid their spines flat to hide the shorter, recently broken quills. Finally, they smoothed their fur to try and hide the still-healing bite wounds.

Even so, the tiny creature that pattered out to greet their most loyal subject was a bedraggled sight, despite holding their head high and trying to look noble. They were thin, having had so little time to siphon nutrients from their surroundings, and fur stuck out around barely-covered bite marks across their torso. Their assailant had been scarcely larger than a cat, but they had been big enough to cause some serious damage to the weasel that was scarcely six inches long.

As Envy saw that Pride wasn't alone, the look that crossed their face was, for a fleeting instant, anxious. But they tried not to show it as they latched onto the vertical surface of the throne and pattered their way up and onto its seat to perch before them.

"Y-yes, Pride? Who's this?" they asked, casting their gaze over the wolf. "Have you come to join my kingdom?" they asked, with a hopeful note entering their voice.

Speech. Thought.

"...Mmm-hm," Envy grunted, and looked the wolf up and down as she introduced herself by title and name. They were uncertain of what else to say that would top it. "Well... I'm King Envy, glorious leader of the Seven. But I'm sure Pride's already told you that."

They held back a laugh-- an ironic laugh more than anything-- as she said she was going to kill Blackberry. Aren't we all? they thought, with a trace of spite. But they didn't want to come across as rude- so instead they simply sighed and wearily said, "That makes three of us."

For an instant they remembered what had happened; the attack that was aimed for her, but had crushed her son instead in a way that was more terrible than anything Blackberry had ever done. She should already be dead. But Envy had failed, the agonizing reality that she had somehow escaped. Wounded, but escaped.

They shivered, once again, at the memory.

As she appeared to misunderstand the purpose of their kingdom, Envy tilted their head slightly. "It's not that exclusive," they said. Even so, they nodded in acknowledgement of her offer. Finally they turned to Pride, listening to his explanation.

Their first thought was that this sounded awfully shady.

They hadn't been there. They didn't know the full story, it was true. But still they couldn't help feeling like it was a bad idea. "But... Why?" the weasel asked nervously. "There's got to be a reason. The elders always have reasons for things, don't they? And if not sinister, then what?"

Perhaps envy was simply being jealous over their throne, but... even the reward seemed... lackluster. "And if things do go wrong, I'll be the one affected, won't I? Who's to say that as soon as you're gone they come to the throne and use it to... I don't know..." They shook their head, quills rattling, raising slightly along their head and back. "It's my throne, after all. I live here."

Speech. Thought.

Envy huffed, softly. Although they hated to admit it, they didn't think they even had that many any more. Pride was still theirs, but one by one the kingdom of the Seven seemed to have been crumbling. First Greed, then Lust, then Gluttony, then Wrath; the seven sins seemed to be, one by one, dropping off the face of the earth. And soon, Amazon would be going too. The weasel's heart grew heavier, though the only sign was a quiet rattle of their quills. "It might as well be," they answered her.

"For fun?" they asked after that, in apparent disbelief. They didn't see what sort of fun merely putting a rock next to a chair would amount to if not some kind of trouble. The weasel shifted uncomfortably, before looking to Pride for guidance. "Perhaps," they muttered, after some time. "What if the Kingdom tries to find me, and they get caught up in whatever happens instead?"

Truth be told, there were a whole host of reasons Envy didn't want this, the most prominent being that they felt the Throne was their territory, and their possession. It also displeased them greatly that this 'elder' refused to be named. They were a king! They had the right to know what was going on with their throne. "...why else would they say not to tell anyone who did it?"

Speech. Thought.