Lust’s heart began to swell at Envy’s words. He thought that they could become strong! He really thought this! Not only that, but they said they would make sure of it! How wonderful! Lust didn’t really believe that they could be as powerful as the two of them, but the fact that Envy believed in him and would try despite the odds made them aglow in pride. Invigorated the tiny chick doubled their efforts to keep up with the swifter creature with a soft coo barely audible.

The coo quickly changed into a cheery squawk at the pile of grass. It was perfect! Yes yes, perfect indeed! And before they even had a chance to scamper towards it the weasel had laid a large pile of it at their feet. Pink tiny beak peaked at it, testing it out through instinct alone. Yes, this would be good. Though one tiny bit was slightly damp. Strange …. Then the chick realized it was most likely from Envy’s jaws. With a quick glance, it was noted that the weasel was excited. A strange feeling overcame Lust. There was comfort in the fact that a bit of their new king would be with them in their nest. For a moment, they wondered if it was possible to get more. Or something from Reseda as well. To have them always close at hand, even when they were away ….

Lust was snapped out of their thoughts by Envy’s newest words. The thoughts dissipated, unknowingly shelved for another time when they could be explored in more depth. After all, the warmth that they had felt just briefly was quite comforting.

“Oh, ah, yes! Thank you! Thank you, King Envy!” Lust quickly scampered to gather up as much of the grass in their beak as they could before bounding off after the weasel, taking extra care to take the few strands that they had noted.


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

original coding by wulf for template purposes

Envy gave the pigeon an odd look as they let out their strange little squawk of excitement- the response to their offering of grass. something so simple, but apparently, effective. They grinned. It seemed like this whole... looking like a good leader, thing was gonna be even easier than they'd thought. They paused once again to wait for the little bird to catch up to them, and then let out a surprised snort at their words. Their gaze brightened, eyes gleaming.

King Envy!

The weasel couldn't hold back the smile even around the wad of grass they were carrying for Lust. They grinned until their cheeks ached, their heart swelling with pride until it nearly burst. They let out a muffled sound, but couldn't quite find the words. "Heh-heh," they managed eventually, through the slobbery grass in their jaws.
"'ss jus'... parch of bein'... a goog king."

They were gonna make sure that Lust thought of them as the great and noble leader they would surely one day become.



"Speech."

@Lust

Lust followed along behind them as best as possible, wings fluttering to give a bit of lift to each hop. It was tiring work keeping up with the weasel. They couldn’t complain though. So much progress had been made since they had started out looking for a nest. And Envy was taking time out of their busy day to help them. Lust had to keep up and make the most of things. They couldn’t dare complain about the pace when Envy could easily be something else instead. After all, wasn’t it their own fault if they weren’t able to keep up? It simply meant that they would have to work harder to prove themselves, to keep up with their idols.

Still, they were a small hatchling. Hatchlings were not meant to leave the nest for a while longer let along wander off so fast for so long. Excited energy could only linger for so long before the pigeon’s little feet began to grow tired. Lust began to slow in pace though they gave as much effort as possible to keep up.

Finally, though, they had to stop. Lust dropped the grass before them and panted. “I’m sorry! I just need a second to catch my breath! Sorry!” Lust felt terrible at causing the delay. They were on a mission! Not a particularly important one, but they were using valuable time so it had priority. And yet here the chick was dawdling. It didn’t matter that it was something they needed to do. They were holding their new king up and that was what was at the front of their brain.

“Just for a second,” Lust added pleadingly, hoping that Envy wasn’t too disappointed in them.


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

original coding by wulf for template purposes

Envy kept on moving at a steady pace, even though their paws were itching to run off ahead and find the place. It wasn't far, but at this pace, it was gonna take a while to get back to their den. Naturally, they wanted to cover as much distance as quickly as possible, something that their lithe body achieved easily. But they were drawn back to the matter at hand by the voice of the pigeon trailing along behind them. Envy turned, taking a few seconds to consider before impatiently dropping their bundle and hurrying back with a slithering gait.

Envy stood before the chick, tail twitching, teeth clenched into a forced smile, and forced themselves to wait. They twitched, the eagerness unbearable, impatience leaking into slight movements. "Sure," they responded after some time, mainly to fill the gap."Just, not too long, okay? I've gotta get you home and... You know... keep you... safe."

A small sigh escaped them. They could hardly wait to get back home, helping Lust get set up as their first official follower. They could hardly wait to have Lust right there by their den, for them to... well... they didn't know exactly. Rule? Yes, that was right. Either way, Lust was theirs, and the sooner they could get back, the better. But they also needed to look like a good, strong king. And that meant doing stupid things for her benefit. They looked back up at Lust. "Finished?"


"Speech."

@Lust

The chick plopped down onto the ground, releasing the strands of grass from their beak to breath more easily. It was tiring work making a nest! They were eternally grateful that Envy had come along. What if they had to do this all alone? Surely, they would be even more exhausted than they are now! Yes, it was true that the weasel was going at a much faster pace than they probably would have. But they had also lead the chick directly to a spot of grass and now directly towards a location that would be perfect for a nest. Lust felt they should be grateful for all that they had done for them.

Still, it was tiring work for a young pigeon. It was amazing just how big Orion was. And they’ve explored so little of it. Lust realized now that it would be so easy to get lost there. Luckily Envy was leading the way. They were surely a wise king and would know how to travel there very easily. Once Lust had travelled there a time or two they were certain they’d have its location memorized as well.

Then a troublesome thought struck them. Lust turned to Envy with concern. “How will I let Reseda know where I am? She was going to teach me and look after me when I’m not with you. I should let her know where my nest is too, shouldn’t I?”

In fact, Lust wondered for a moment how Reseda would be able to find them at all. This was a big cavern and Lust was just a small chick who couldn’t travel far. Would the Komodo dragon be able to sniff them out? Such concerns didn’t cross Lust’s mind when they had first wandered off in search of a nesting area but now plagued his mind terribly. Whatever would they do?


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

original coding by wulf for template purposes

Envy glanced away, working out how much longer it'd take to reach their destination at a pace like this. They were all too eager to get moving. surely Lust would be able to carry on soon? they looked at the baby pigeon expectantly, pricking their ears as she spoke, in a voice full of worry. Envy nodded. "Of course, of course- don't worry about that. I'll take care of it," they soothed. "I know everyone Reseda hangs around with. I can send them to find her, and let her know where we are. She'll find us."

Envy thought about it some more, and grinned. "We can tell her how good a king I'm being, hm?" They moved back to their bundle of grass and glanced back at Lust, holding their head high in what they thought was a royal and dignified poise. They glanced Lust's way. "Ready to go?"

Without awaiting a response, they scooped up their bundle and padded on, as slowly as they could go without pulling a muscle from anticipation.

"Speech."

@Lust

Soothed by the weasel’s words, Lust slowly calmed themselves and tried to recover. If Envy knew everyone Reseda knew, then it would be easy work to get a message to her or to even find her and tell her in person. Lust was relieved to know that it would be simple to find her whenever it was desired. Being young and naïve, it didn’t occur to the chick that it wouldn’t be an instantaneous process. Not knowing this fact was probably for the best though.

Breathing now at a more relaxed pace, Lust quickly gathered up the strands of grass just in time to fall back into step behind them. Envy was going at a more relaxed pace which made the process easier and more overall enjoyable for the chick. They chipped happily at the weasel.

“Yes yes, we’ll have to tell her! I’m sure she’ll be pleased to know I’m safe when she’s not around! I don’t think she liked the idea of me being off by myself much. Probably because I’m a lot smaller than her….”

Lust was keenly aware of how small they were compared to the others. No matter that they were still a hatchling. It seemed as though the entire world was giant compared to them; the caverns, the other creatures, and wind tunnel of Monoceros. Lust wondered for a moment if that would always be the case.

The thought was frustrating, so Lust attempted to change the subject at hand. “You know everyone that Reseda hangs around with? Do you know everyone in the caves here? Are there a lot of us here?” Lust wondered just how many there were wondering the caverns. With the world being so big, there had to be bunches and bunches of others roaming about. Lust wasn't entirely sure how they felt about that fact.


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

original coding by wulf for template purposes

Envy glanced towards lust as they continued, drinking in her words with interest. They kept walking for a while, offering only a grunt in response around the grass still overflowing from their jaws. "Mmm-hm... Mmm-hm." they said, nodding at each statement in turn. Finally, the weasel was approaching the little crevice they'd turned into a home, and they were eager to reach it. They could hear the nearby trickle of the stream, rushing in their ears. Soon, they were following a crumbling wall running parallel to it, as though planned long ago.

Finally, they drew to a halt, putting down the grass they carried for a momentary break. they were in the general vicinity of their den, so this would do. They could easily show lust around from here without fear of losing their grassy prize. "Well, I'm a lot smaller than her too, but I can handle myself. I'm sure she knows that."

Envy stretched their jaw wide, sticking out their tongue against the gross taste of plants. They didn't know how folks like Pride could eat this, and even more so, enjoy it. The weasel tried not to think about it. "Of course I do! I'm their king, after all," Envy boasted eagerly. "I'm sure you'll meet them soon enough. In particular, look out for a white deer. He's about your age, but... a lot bigger." Envy hated to admit it, but the fawn was bigger than them, too. "His name is Pride." Envy let that sink in before moving onto the little one's next questions. "I don't know everyone in the cave. That'd be impossible. I know a lot of them though, and there are a lot."They paused and looked around they scurried forward, starting to cover theremaining distance between them and their den, and leaving the grass where it was, for now.

"Anyway, we're just about here."


"Speech."

@Lust

Lust ambled along as well as possible while musing on various thoughts. It took the pigeon by mild surprise when finally, the weasel halted and lowered the grass pile. This part of the trip had seemed shortly as they were distracted by their inner thoughts. Still, they were quite happy for another break. Lust dropped their own grass pile and looked around them. The wall they had been following made for a fairly easy to remember landmark. Water running nearby came to Lusts ear sockets. Already the place seemed like a good location for a nest. At least, they hoped it would be. At least better than the dens that Reseda seemed to prefer.

Lust smiled at Envy’s words about how they too were small but able to handle themselves. Well, smiled as much as a beak would allow. It was a comfort to know that they were not really limited simply because they were small. That was a concern that kept coming back to Lust’s mind again and again; that they would always be small and helpless. Envy, however, made it seem as though that may not be the case.

Anxieties put aside for the moment, Lust couldn’t help but become more excited about where they were going. The weasel too appeared eager as they scurried along as soon after answering the chick’s questions. A surprised chirp was sounded before following after. Lust was hesitant about leaving the grass behind, but Envy did so and was a king. Surely, if he thought it was safe than Lust had no reason to worry about it.

“Pride….” Lust tasted the name on their tongue. It had an interesting ring in their beak. Little did Lust know that such a name denoted something that acted as the near mirror opposite to what they were becoming, timid and lacking of self-confidence at this time. They simply knew the name sounded nice and important. But it was another large creature. They wondered if he was as big as Reseda was. Or bigger! Were all these creatures much bigger than they? Envy said there were lots of creatures in the caverns. Hopefully some were more their size. That would be nice to meet others who were small like them.

Lust paused in the rastling of thoughts that were occurring as Envy announced they were nearly there. “Oh yay! I can’t wait to see where your den is, Envy! I bet it’s really nice and pretty and comfy. After all, you’re a smart and powerful king so of course you’d have an amazing home!”

The chick’s imagination started to wander a bit. Again, they wondered what kind of den it was that Envy favored. The sound of water flowing became louder nearby. Did Envy swim? That would be interesting, though Lust instinctively knew that pigeons did not do so. Did it have nice open spaces? Maybe a nice soft area to make a nest. Lust grinned, caught up in their thoughts. “What kind of place is it?” they asked, voicing the thoughts they were entertaining.


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

original coding by wulf for template purposes

"Well, I wouldn't say that. It's functional. It's just a little cave," Envy explained as they moved.

Envy kept on scurrying, following a well-trodden path inlaid with their scent from the thousand times they'd run it. They paused occasionally to look back towards Lust, before hurrying on. Finally, they came to a halt at a place where the wall was more like rubble than a solid structure- with plenty of cracks and furrows and piles of worn bricks.

"We're here," the weasel said, turning around back towards them. "Want to take a look around and find a good nest spot? If you want it off the ground, you could easy just--" the weasel bounded over to the foot of the wall and clambered up onto a brick at the base of a worn pile. They clambered up onto another, and then another until they were looking down at Lust as if from the top of a mountain. In reality, they were only a few feet up. But they sure felt tall.

After a few moments of standing tall and proud, they scurried down to the base of the wall, pattering over to a small hollow in between two bricks. It looked like just a space where the brick's setting had worn away, leaving triangular-shaped space that lead deeper into the rubble pile. There was just enough room for Envy to curl up in. Inside was a cluster of glowing pebbles, an amethyst gem, and a single pale pearl. It reeked of metal and the musky scent of Envy's fur. "This is it. If you take a look, don't steal anything. Trust me, I'll know."

They pattered out, back towards Lust. "Want me to go get the grass while you pick a spot?"


"Speech."

@Lust