Envy
You sink your teeth into the people you depend on
Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem

Wobbling and tripping, Envy had slowly and painstakingly drove itself away from the warmth and furry comfort of the mother who'd barely managed to retrieve them from death's door. Its throat was dry and burning, the metallic taste on its tongue barely bearable. with every gulp it felt the hard marble at the back of its tongue clog in its throat. It needed water. It had to find water.

And so instinct drove the little weasel from the safety and comfort of Aaliyah's warm fur and comforting tongue and out into the cold stone jungle where it traveled for what felt like an eternity, groggily dragging its paws. The tiny amount of meat it had managed to eat festered and hung in its belly like a lead weight, and occasionally a bout of nausea would cause it to stop in its tracks, wobbling and groaning.

Unbeknownst to Envy, they had traveled only around 20 meters from where Aaliyah had been, but to such a small and sick creature she could well have been miles away. A small, pink tongue soon began to loll, drooling what little red-tinted saliva they had left. It saw the glint of water ahead- hope- and hurried on.

Soon, the little weasel was dropping their muzzle down to suck at a shallow puddle, but the cold made its mouth numb and lay in its stomach as though it eaten rocks. But, in momentary relief nontheless, they sank down onto their side and closed their eyes for a short rest- but it was only moments before everything was lost. All the scraps of cave mouse it had eaten- the tiny mouthfuls of water- all was emptied back out onto the earth, leaving its sides heaving with exhaustion and the water, tainted.

The little one's ears and whiskers drooped but it stayed where it was, lying sprawled on the earth on its side, until its breaths gradually returned to normal pace.

---

"Speech."
"Thoughts."

@Dezba
( and @Aaliyah if you feel like joining at any point, feel free! Li is welcome to come and collect the little guy at the end.)

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

The shadows cast by the ancient structures shrouded Dezba's slinking form as she crossed the desolate, stony streets. A limp mouse dangled from her jaws. It was a fresh kill, but its ragged, wet fur suggested that she would rather play with her food than eat it.

Coming out of the broken ruins, Dezba padded towards the sound of running water. All of this exploring had dried her throat. As she made her way down to the banks, an unfamiliar scent caught her attention, there was someone else here. With the previous encounters from Cetus still fresh in her mind, she warily set down her toy and lapped at the cool water. A strange, sour taste slowly began to fill her mouth. She gagged and looked down at the water only to realize that it a foul-smelling substance and drifted down her way and spoiled. Disgusted, Her emerald stirred with magick in response, but was quickly quenched as Dezba picked up her mouse and followed it up stream.

She stopped when she saw the supposed cause, an ill-looking weasel. This was gembound she smelled earlier. Dezba almost wanted to kick herself for being so on edge. It looked pathetic, there was no way it could hurt her. She thought back to when she met Imperia and the words they said to her, how they made her feel. It made her angry, and this sick creature made her angry too. How dare it taint her tongue!

Dezba dropped her dead mouse and glared at the little weasel and growled. "Scrap."

Yes, the same word Imperia used for her. There was more but Dezba did not quite understand how the sentence worked.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Envy // OOC:

Envy
You sink your teeth into the people you depend on
Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem

Envy only noticed the prescence of the other being as they heard the sound of their voice, and not a pleasant one. The little weasel opened their eyes to slits, baring their teeth slightly at the wolf who, even though they were young too, towered over them. Not only that, but Envy saw that they carried a prize with them; battered and worn, but they felt their mouth beginning to water.

They glared at the wolf, baring fangs that were small snd sharp. With a grunt they managed to haul themselves onto all four paws, though they swayed and wobbled even as they stared. They hastily sidled away from what was left of their previous meal, lilac gaze fixed on Dezba.

"Scrap?" they asked indignantly. Although Envy didn't quite understand the word itself, their intent was clear enough, and Envy was offended anyway. Even though the fur along their spine began to prickle and stand on end, they forced the anger back, for the time being at least. "The mouse," they said gruffly, lifting a paw to gesture. "Can I have it?"

---

"Speech."
"Thoughts."

@Dezba

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba softened her stance and tilted her head in confusion. The weasel was trying to tell her something. Their little paw was reaching for something.

"Mouse?" She mimicked in question. Dezba looked down to where they were pointing and put two and two together. They wanted her precious toy. Dezba shot the little weasel a defensive glare and she slide the mouse carcass closer to her. She did not want to share, especially not after they putrefied her drinking area.

Then she stopped and thought for a minute. She never had someone to play with before. The little wolf did not want to admit it, but she was a little lonely. Maybe she ought to share it. Dezba looked at the weasel, then back down at her toy, and sighed. Reluctantly, she pushed the dead rodent over to them, expecting them to start some kind of game.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Envy // OOC:

Envy
You sink your teeth into the people you depend on
Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem

Envy nodded at their question, lilac eyes piercing, but betraying a sliver of despair in them, too. They were desperately hungry, having lost the only thing they'd ever eaten, and their small ribs were clearly visible beneath their fur. As the young wolf showed their possessiveness over their kill, the weasel's eyes narrowed, lip lifting to show a pointed little tooth in the ghost of a threat, even though they were barely a fraction of the size of the wolf pup.

The look faded from their face however, when the other creature pushed the mouse towards them, being replaced by a brief look of surprise. Without a shred of wariness the young one glanced up at their face before weakly pulling the mouse into their chest and coiling around it to eat.

They pulled a few strips of meat from the mouse and buried their face in the belly, and though they failed to swallow it for a while, craning their head back and gulping furiously, they managed to eat more than they had before, and cleansed the taste of bile from their tongue. With their belly full, though the nausea returned as well, the weasel sat back from the ravaged mouse and peered at the wolf curiously, expectantly almost. They seemed unsure what to do with the rest of it, although they also didn't seem willing to openly offer it back, remaining curled next to the body jealously.

They pawed at the mouse's wiry tail almost playfully, pushing it closer to the wolf in a way that seemed almost intentional

Still they watched the larger creature closely.

---

"Speech."
"Thoughts."

@Dezba

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba stared in shock as the little weasel began to devour her prized possession. Before she new it, they had turned into a ragged, torn mess, and to add insult to injury, they were pushing it back to her. She had never felt so betrayed.

"No! No!" She snapped angrily, stomping her paw as thorny vines broke through the dirt around her. They tangled around her legs like little, green snakes. Dezba almost lost her train of thought as she broke free. "Scrap of fur!" She spat. Whatever game this weasel was playing, she did not like it!

Dezba broke her way out of her young briar patch only to have it follow her pawsteps, but she ignored the annoying tangles, her piercing eyes blazed with fury at the other gembound. Enraged, she snarled, flashing her sharp, white teeth at them.

"Scarp of fur! Scrap of fur! Scrap of fur!." She barked over and over again, overwhelmed with seething rage.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Envy // OOC:

Envy
You sink your teeth into the people you depend on
Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem

The small weasel seemed shocked for a split second, but their eyes narrowed quickly and they grabbed the mouse back, dragging it towards them. As they began to yell, Envy felt anger rising in their chest, giving way to bitterness and spite. Why were they so angry? They were the ones who'd given it! What else were they meant to do with food except eat it?!

At least they didn't seem to want it back, meaning that Envy was in complete possession of the food now. That was a small victory, at least. The small, skinny weasel took a deep breath, trying to think of appropriate insults. "Big, stupid lump of rock!" they shrieked. "Hypocrite! Furbrain! Fatty!" Envy thought that their insults were much better, especially since the other Gembound kept using the same one. Envy considered the thought that they had something the wolf pup didn't; creativity, and their chest swelled for a moment, until the little one noticed the thorns wrapping themselves around their ankles.

How were they doing that?!

All triumph deserted Envy, replacing quickly with sheer rage and envy. Tears of anger began to bubble in their eyes. "Stupid cheater! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" and then they burst into tears. This stranger had everything and they wanted it, but they knew they couldn't steal their wellness.

---

"Speech."
"Thoughts."

@Dezba

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

As the weasel hurled insults at her, Dezba became more and more agitated. She barely knew what they meant, but somehow the mean words cut deep. Her green eyes pierced with anger and the thorny vines around her feet spread thicker and faster.

She hated this creature. She hated their purple eyes, their weird, scrawny body, their screeching voice. They caused her nothing but pain. Rage began to bubble in her chest like a volatile pit of lava. But most of all, she hated their dumb, little "game". She didn't like being weaseled out of her toy, but Dezba was going to get it back one way for another, well, what was left of it.

What was this? They had tears in their eyes now. Did she make them sad? Now she felt bad, and she HATED that the she felt bad. Now she hated them even more! Anger built up in her body, so much that Dezba felt like she was about to explode. Until..

"No! You're STUPID!" She screamed, lunging at the little weasel.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Envy // OOC:

Envy
You sink your teeth into the people you depend on
Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem

The little weasel decided that they didn't like this angry, horrible creature, but what they did like was how they seemed to be affecting it. The way their words seemed to make it more and more agitated brought a thrill of triumph to their chest, but of course it wasn't Envy's fault that they'd been a jerk! They were the ones who'd given them the mouse! Because they'd needed it!

Still, the adrenaline rushing through them was driving them to move, their body curling in on itself and paws dancing until they were bouncing, dancing, flipping in front of the wolf. The fear and thrill seemed to be giving them an energy they hadn't known before. It was as though they had been driven insane by the cocktail of emotion rushing through their chest, causing their throat to feel drier and drier, but they couldn't stop. Not now! Not when they were feeling such a thrill!

Little did they know it, inborn instinct was the thing driving them to dance and dive, composing an improvised war-dance built to confuse and hypnotize even though they didn't understand it yet.

Even the confusion and panic felt good to the weasel, enthralling them to the core, causing the little weasel to keep bounding, jerking and fidgeting on the spot. As the wolf lunged, the little one shot out of the way, the black wolf just barely brushing the black tip of their tail in their lunge. And then Envy was darting and dancing, flipping and turning, just out of their reach, jaws stretched wide and heaving panting breaths as they screeched.

"MAMMA!"

And then they were running, still bouncing and dancing, but with their first taste of torment. In their thrilled rush to get away, they failed to realize that they'd left the mouse where it had lain, ready for its former owner to lay claim to.

-exit Envy-

---

"Speech."
"Thoughts."

@Dezba
Sorry this thread ended up being so short xD
I thought it'd feel like a good conclusion to end it now, so we can have them meet in a later thread, when Envy is on less tight timeline constraints. I still think this'll make a good start to a rival-type relationship~

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba's jaws closed around air, the weasel had slipped past her. She clinched her jaws and snapped her head towards the fleeing gemling. "Coward!" She screamed at it, but the weasel was already gone.

Seething with anger, her sides heaved rapidly as she paced back and forth. Dezba's green eyes locked on the torn mouse. It had been her toy for a while, but the weasel had ruined it, and now the sight of it only brought pain. She lashed out her jaws and furiously chucked into the river. As it twisted away in the flowing water, the black pup's anger began to ebb away until all she felt was her aching loneliness. Dezba dropped down into a wilted sit, her head drooped as the green vines gradually ceased climbing her limbs, and she began to sob.

-exit Dezba-

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: // OOC: