Jealousy's Riches (Sinful Seven formation)

Envy watched Pride expectantly as the stag began to form a gem around his hoof, and felt a pang of bitterness for a moment until they realized what he was doing, when the feeling began to be replaced by a trickle of pride. They couldn't resist watching as the gem grew, eyes brightening. But they also couldn't help the look of dismay that crossed their face as Pride failed to remove it from his hoof. They looked up towards his face as though concerned it was a joke.

Envy barely had the time to respond before they felt a rough tongue combing them, cleaning off the murk of red-tinted fluid and revealing a lush forest-green colour beneath. Although at first they squirmed in embarrassment, the nostalgia of their very first days alive was enough to stop them in their tracks. And, having others do things for you- wasn't that part of being a king? So they let their mother lick them clean, until they stood, greener than they'd ever been before and new spines cocked proudly. The array of spikes twitched as Li spoke to them again, stuttering with nervous. They turned towards her, fixing the cat with a catlike gaze of their own. They paused for a moment, spikes rippling as they considered their response- how to make them sound strong, because Envy knew that if they'd been alone, they would have won. "I was helping Pride. My magic worked flawlessly, but they wouldn't play fair. There were five of them. A goose, a moose, a wolf... and a bunch of the same, but all mashed together."

Envy fixed their gaze on Reseda next, a soft rattle emerging from their quills. They couldn't help feeling a thrill of shock, but they kept themselves calm except for the twitching of their spiked tail- which felt too heavy for their liking. "You stole them? Don't you think they'll... have it out for us now? Not that they can beat us, but..." They found a rythmn, of tapping the tip of their bony tail on the surface of the rock behind them. It drove easily into moss and soil.

There it was again. Reseda's talk of 'Sins'. And it got Envy thinking back to what Pride had said, about the seven. Reseda called herself Greed, if they remembered correctly. Their eyes flicked over each of the assembled, gaze alighting for a while longer on Lust. Envy combed their claws through their chest, deep in thought. "Seven sins..." they muttered thoughtfully.

Pride, Lust, Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth... and me. Sins, huh? Pretty ridiculous. Those don't sound so bad.

As a concept it worked, but they didn't yet have a Wrath, a Sloth, or a Gluttony. Envy wondered for a split second whether they'd really want a gluttony. The thought of seeing someone eating made them want to throw up again. But they chided themselves- they wanted more subjects more than anything else. The allegiance of those around them came with a rush of feeling, a thrill of excitement and a feeling of security unmatched. They were truly a king.

They'd talk to Reseda later about Gluttony, Sloth and Wrath.

They realized they'd been staring for a while at the pigeon, and hastily tore their gaze away. They felt a surge of satisfaction and power through their bones as they watched each creature bow in turn. For a moment they were glad that Aaliyah was here to see this; and their heart ached to hear what she thought, how proud she'd be. They looked her way, offering a grin- a more genuine grin than they'd ever wore before, before turning again to their subjects. "Follow me to Orion. That's where I'll claim my throne! Under my rule, you'll become a part the Sinful Seven! We'll know our flaws, but we'll make them our strengths!"

Lust's voice brought a new kind of excitement flooding from their heart to the tips of their paws and tail. They couldn't resist a tiny flip, bouncing up and down on their pedestal and flexing their spines excitedly. In this moment of wonder and excitement, Envy felt magic flooding them, a new kind of magic. It was something they'd never felt before, but they let it flow.

And in that moment Envy found themselves thinking back to everyone they'd met, everyone who'd jeered and laughed, everyone who'd been so much stronger. Imperia, that alligator, that stupid wolf- faces flashed through their mind and each brought with it a stab of pain. Each and every one of them so much bigger, so much stronger- every one of their faces filled with so much disdain. Even if they'd only met for a moment, they were there. Envy's spines rattled, and the weasel bent over on their pedestal, covering their eyes and folding back their ears as they tried desperately to hide the tears that were suddenly brewing in their eyes. It was almost- almost- as though they'd been overcome by a fit of passion. After all, they'd worked towards this for so long. Envy's sides quaked, and when they finally looked up, the fur around their eyes was discernibly damp.

They sniffled, struggling to gain control again. They squared their hind paws firmly apart and in an effort to appear in control, raised their voice in a high-pitched yell with a voice that was ragged with pent-up sobs. "WE'LL BE STRONGER THAN ANYONE!"

___________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Pride
notes: here

RE: Jealousy's Riches (Sinful Seven formation) - Pride - Aug 16 2018

Pride was still trying to shake the gem loose, onto Envy's head, when they apparently lost their damn mind.

He paused, hoof dangling midair, staring as Envy broke into ragged sobs. What is this all about, then? Has their rebirth damaged their mind..?

Concerned, Pride hurriedly sent a surge of magicka into the gem he'd formed, trying at last to simply grow it free. It didn't drop, so with a grunt, he shook his leg more strongly--and with a pop the little crown went flying, clattering over the stone. He glanced after it and with a couple of swift stag's bounds he was on it, like a dog chasing a bone, picking it up in his teeth and trotting back.

With a brief, worried glance at the weasel--would they just... attack him, possibly?--he delicately leaned in to finally place the crown upon Envy's head.

"I... will go to Orion with you, yes," he agreed in his fluting voice, bewildered at the display.

@Aaliyah

RE: Jealousy's Riches (Sinful Seven formation) - Aaliyah - Aug 16 2018

It was strange, seeing all these gembounds bow to Envy. Still, it sent a burst of pride through Li - Envy had gotten so far. They'd made so many friends and...they're king now. King of this group. She smiled slightly.

That smile was soon wiped away as she heard of what happened. Five? A goose and a moose? And...hybrids? That sent a bolt of fear through her again. So there seemed to be gembounds going around and attacking others. Probably killing them. It didnt seem like Imperia had found them, for if they had, surely they'd join. Would they? Or would they try and fight? She realized she had no idea. She hadn't seen Imperia in such a long time - aside from their little reunion some cycles ago.

She was lost in thought for a moment until she noticed Envy starting to shiver, and she looked toward them in concern, nudging them slightly. "Envy...?" She looked up at the stag as he placed the crown on the weasel's head before looking back at Envy. She wondered what had overcome them, and if there was anything she could do.

Though with a glance at all the others, she wondered if they'd want her to do anything. Was she supposed to give them some space? Were they...embarrassed of her? The thoughts were enough to cause her to back up a little, eyes darting around, though she was clearly still greatly concerned.

"Li Speech."

@Reseda

RE: Jealousy's Riches (Sinful Seven formation) - Wrath - Aug 16 2018

Wrath was... confused, to say the least. She had been exploring the caves for quite quite a bit since she had woken up, traveling with a maned wolf who called herself Fate. Eventually, however, the two had gone on their seperate paths, leaving Wrath alone in Polaris.

Her attention had been attracted by the sounds of many, many other Gembounds- almost deafening to one who had been in the company of just Fate for all this time. She felt the vibrations of many different sizes of animals through the ground, piquing her curiosity. She slithered closer.

She picked out a specific scent from the crowd, which was a preyscent tinged with the faint scent of acrid poison. The preyscent was speaking of being a King to those in the crowd- speaking of grandeur and power, and more importantly, leading a following to Orion. A thrill went up her spine. This preyscent was certainly attracting a lot of attention- it was certain that something exciting was going to happen around the toxic preyscent. Wrath slithered closer to the crowd, lurking in the back. No use missing out on the action, right?

RE: Jealousy's Riches (Sinful Seven formation) - Gluttony - Aug 17 2018

GLUTTONY
I'M NOT A GLUTTON, I'M AN EXPLORER OF FOOD

Gluttony had not seen Reseda in a few cycles, not any other sins. The gathering of Gembounds intrigued him, maybe they had found something tasty. He approached them cautiously, spotting the familiar Komodo among them. He sidled up beside her, listening quietly.

It had seemed to be the formation of a group, the Sinful Seven. Lust, Wrath, Envy, who seemed to be the weasel, Pride, Sloth, Greed... and Gluttony.

The goat thought for a moment. He was a glutton, it was his namesake. He loved food. He belonged with them, it was so obvious it was almost painful. Glutton stepped forward, speaking quietly. ”I will join you, King Envy. I am Gluttony, pleasure to be of service.“ He paused for a moment, his insatiable belly rumbling, ”Is thereany food around?“

[Image: N008Q9U.gif]

”I'm hungry!“
Feed me please.
Tags: @Envy
Notes: here

RE: Jealousy's Riches (Sinful Seven formation) - Reseda - Aug 18 2018

Reseda stood as Envy began to speak again, a glimmer appearing in her eyes as her greed once again sparked. A deep, yearning desire to take everything by force. Become the master of the caves, the strongest, the greatest. She wanted everything and everything was what she would get. It didn't matter what it was. Even the crown that Pride placed upon Envy's head. She wanted it, desperately.

But she had to be patient. She had to control herself. And if there was anything that Reseda had learned in her many cycles, it was patience. Haste had almost ruined her chance with Pride. It had almost destroyed her many times. But her patience was paying off already. With Envy leading the Sinful Seven, she had a start.

And as Envy's magic flowed, there was something else she wanted. Something hidden deep within her that she had never thought of before - well, not consciously. As she looked around at everyone, at Envy, welling up with tears, at the concern on the strange cat's face, the hope on the tiny lizards...she wanted that too. She wanted to feel the way they felt. The emptiness within her suddenly felt as wide as Polaris and it seemed, just for a moment, an impossible feat to fill it. But she wanted to. She wanted everything, yes. But her deepest desire was something that she had always thought was everyone else's greatest weakness - emotion.

We'll know our flaws, but we'll make them our strengths... Perhaps that was her flaw. She had always thought of her lack of feeling as a strength. But now that this strange magic was washing over her, she realized that it was, perhaps, her greatest weakness. She did not truly understand everyone else because she could not feel the way they did. She would never lead a normal life like they did because she could never be the same. And, if Reseda was capable of emotion, this thought would have made her despair.

But then the moment ended as two newcomers joined the circle. A strange looking snake and a familiar face - none other than Gluttony himself. Had fate led him here or had he been aware of the meeting? And perhaps the snake was one they were missing as well - Wrath or Sloth.

As the goat strolled up beside her, she turned and gave him a small nod. "Welcome, Gluttony. I haven't seen you in some time. I assume that you are hungry..." She lifted one of her hefty claws forward and summoned a banana from the ground - a small one, but it was something. It was a spell rarely used, after all, as she had no interest in eating bananas herself.