Asimona asked why they were shivering; perhaps it hadn't been as subtle as they'd thought. A momentary look of shock and bruised pride crossed their face. they huffed out a large, steamy breath and folded their paws across their chest. "Uh, because it's cold. Duh. Not that it... bothers me. I don't care." Their gaze flickered away for a moment, before glancing back a moment later.

Envy grinned, seeming pleased, and scoffed at Asimona's respond although they seemed momentarily unsure of how to respond. "Aw, c'mon. That was way too easy," they chuckled playfully. "You're no fun."

The weasel followed Asimona's gaze to the icy walls. That didn't look fun, but they wondered how cool it would look if they succeeded where this dragon had failed. That would be a success well worth the risk of failure. Besides, they'd climbed trees before... how much different could it be? Envy snorted. "Not these walls, but I've climbed trees before. I'm really good at it," they boasted, nodding matter-of-factly as they dropped onto all fours and pattered over to the wall in question. They took a good, long look at it, planning their route and trying not to feel intimidated.

---

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

tags: @Asimona
notes: here

Asimona blinked with confusion and tried to focus on the air. Sure, it was cold, but was Envy not insulated enough? Did he not have thick skin? Or was that fluffy stuff all over him not keeping him insulated? Now she felt bad that she had lowered the temperature. Then again, she hadn't really meant to. So she shouldn't worry about it, right?

But she still did. "Oh, sorry about that. I wish I could make it warmer, but I don't know how." She hoped that Envy wouldn't feel too bad. Wait, why should I care? This guys a little pest!

But she couldn't help but admire his stubborn attachment to his pride. That was persistence there that she wished she had. Then again, she hadn't really had much of a chance to try it. She turned to look at the wall with envy. The icy rocks were steep and they were tall, but she could spot plenty of holes for paws or claws. That was, assuming that they weren't too slippery.

She turned to Envy. "What do you think? Want to climb?"


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

Envy shrugged, sitting up to look at the large, silvery creature again. They'd unintentionally moved closer to her, and felt their fur bristle as they beheld her large size and silvery scales, and... wings. Envy shook their head. With their magic, they could be as silvery as they wanted to be, and they could have wings too! ...Useless wings, but still wings. With magic, they could do anything! Envy puffed out their chest and looked up at Asimona, meeting her gaze with a fiery and determined look.

"If you can make it cold, you can make it warm!" they declared, with a firm nod. "If you know what you wanna do, then magic can do it. I'd know! I'm the best at magic." The weasel suppressed another shiver, but they seemed relatively satisfied with Asimona's apology.

They turned their attention back to the wall, having looked long enough to just about get their bearings on what they thought would be easiest to climb. They swallowed, the bitter-tasting jewel in their throat catching. "Hmph! let's do it!" Envy yelled, and darted over to the wall, beginning to clamber up onto the nearest ledge. They hadn't been expecting its surface to be so slippery, and they almost slid back, but drove in their claws and managed to make it up. They quickly turned their attention to the next highest pawholds, which were just within their reach. They climbed up, and managed to make it around 20 inches off the ground before turning around to look at Asimona proudly, feeling immensely tall but probably still only eye level with Asimona, if that.

---

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

tags: @Asimona
notes: here

Asimona thought about it for a second. If she could make it cold, she could make it warm. But she didn't know how to make it warm. Sure, she knew how to make it cold, she just focused on her crystal and the magic did the work for her. But to make it warm? She had no idea if she could. Or if she even wanted to. But Envy would probably be happier if she did.

She watched the weasel clamber up the icy wall and watched how his claws drove into the ice. She had been doing that too, but her weight had been too much. Perhaps if she dug her claws into the rock. They were certainly long enough.

She pinpointed a starting spot and reached up to start her climb. However, as soon as she lifted her body off the ground, the ice cracked and shattered again and she quickly slid off so as not to fall again and embarrass herself more. She frowned and looked at Envy. "Damn, I think I'm too heavy."


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

Envy watched them sink their claws into the ice with an expectant look in their eye, leaning over the edge of the narrow ledge they were perched on. When, as expected, the draconian slithered back, the grin once again slithered onto Envy's muzzle. They seemed immensely pleased that they could do something that Asimona couldn't, and they had to focus hard to keep their paws from bouncing, almost slipping off of their own accord.

The small one nodded, smug eyes glittering like jewels as they dropped into a lying position, their tail flickering and twitching wildly, and peered down at Asimona. "Aw, what a shame," they said, although the sparkle in their eyes made it clear thet the intent was not quite what it appeared. "Maybe you should try again, just to be sure." They turned back to the rock wall, craning their neck to look at the treacherous climb above them.

"Wouldn't wanna be beaten by someone like me, would ya?"

With a small cackle, they tried to scramble up towards the next pawholds... but after a few moments, slithered back onto the last ledge themselves. They quickly looked back at Asimona, eyes flashing warningly. "...See? ...that's what you looked like, just then... Silly, wasn't it?"


"Speech."

@Asimona

Asimona's eyes sparkled with annoyance. Were they ever going to stop being so annoying and dwelling on her failures? Probably not - she would just have to get used to it. Instead, she decided that she would try again. She flexed her claws, imagining them sinking into stone that cracked beneath her grip. She bunched her muscles and leaped at the wall. This time, she felt her claws dig past the ice and into the stone. She felt a shudder as ice gave way beneath her, but she managed to hang on. With great effort, she climb, trying to force her wings to stay folded - this wasn't a flying exercise, this was for strength. After a few more pulls, she managed to get on the same ledge as Envy.

She looked down at the weasel and smiled, her eye glimmering. "See? I made it, even though it's harder for me. You haven't beat me yet." She looked up at the next part of the wall. The ice here was untouched yet - that was going to be a little more challenging.


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

Envy looked momentarily worried as the draconian managed to catch up to them. The weasel snorted, feigning disinterest, even though the fur along their spine had started to bristle. "Big deal," they said, arching their spine as they prepared for another go. "You're way bigger than me, you have it easier!"

Envy huffed out a steamy breath, wriggled their haunches, and started shimmying up the wall. but it didn't take long for their claws to start coming loose; the moisture had cooled until it was a clear, almost flat, sheet of black ice over the wall. Perhaps Asimona would have found a way up, with her much larger body and further reach, but Envy found themselves struggling to grip. But they'd come slightly too far to just slip back and have another go. At first, they slid, front paws still scrabbling for a hold.

...And then, they collided with the ledge and quickly picked up speed into a full-on tumble. Head over tail, head over tail, Envy saw stars and the quicker they fell, the sicker they felt. Finally, they collided with a rock at the bottom, and came to a jolting halt. They lay still, completely and utterly dazed, with only the slightest croak of shock emerging from their parted jaws. Envy couldn't even muster up the strength for a snide remark, barely raising their head.

They blinked a couple of times before closing their eyes.

"Speech."

@Asimona

Asimona snorted. True, she was bigger, but that also made her heavier. She gave a short chuckle and watched as Envy started climbing the second wall. But then they slipped and a jolt of fear raced through her heart as the weasel began to fall. She reached forward to try and catch him, but the ledge was too small for her to move much and he slipped past her, tumbling all the way to the ground.

Forgetting her exercise, she opened her wings and carefully glided down to the bottom, landing next to him. She bent down, scared that he had hurt himself really bad. "Envy! Are you okay?" She carefully nosed the small creature, wondering what she could do to help. Did he break something? Was anything hurting? How could she help him?


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

Asimona's voice broke vaguely through a fog that had settled in over Envy's mind. They bared their fangs in a grimace, opening their eyes at first to slits, and then raising their head. They groaned, barely managing to stay upright. They turned their gaze towards Asimona, and just managed enough lucidity to glare at her. Heat fizzled beneath their fur, and they puffed out visibly. luckily though, it seemed like they were small and light enough to escape the worst of the potential damage.

They shook their head and sucked in a deep breath, doing their best to gulp despite the jewel at the back of their throat. They felt sick- the fear had caused their stomach to turn and the metallic taste filled their mouth. the weasel opened their jaws wide, and spat a glob of

They felt their throat clench, and held their breath. The worst of the nausea soon faded. The small weasel staggered to their paws, swaying vaguely but trying their hardest to look strong. they rose onto their hind paws and continued to look at Asimona as though nothing had happened. "I'm f-fine," they grumbled, brushing off their chest and looking away from Asimona to hide their pure embarrassment. They almost felt like running away; but at this point, that would only humiliate them more. What would redeem them. Envy bristled and curled hotly, tail thrashing in discomfort.


"Speech."

@Asimona

Asimona watched the little guy get back on his feet with concern. If he was really in pain, maybe he shouldn't be moving yet. She backed away a little bit, wanting to give him space and a room to breath as he retched. She felt a little guilty. If she hadn't challenged him, he wouldn't be hurt. She crouched, worried that he was still hurt.

She glanced back at the wall, all her need to prove the weasel wrong gone. "Maybe we shouldn't climb anymore." Even if they did want to, she wasn't sure that he could be able to climb, what with that huge fall he just had. She looked over him, trying to find any visible injuries. "Are you hurt? Can I help?"


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

tags: @Envy
notes: