Pride listened, increasingly troubled. What if Reseda's act of "impotent and ignorant" in terms of leadership, and manipulation, had all been merely an act? Would she bother with something like that, with one so young as he?

"She made much... the same assurance to me--" and then Envy was flying, a sudden pillar of quartz shunted up violently from the stone. Pride flinched back, eyes widening, staggering on the rock; he could hear a cry, and a thud.

Oh, no.

For a moment, as he scrambled to run after Envy, he tried to summon up his magicka--to create a double, one that could help him search. It did not come--the situation was too dire--and he wound up scrabbling over the rock trying to get a grip with his hooves. "Envy?!" he called, with alarm.

He galloped clumsily on long fawn's legs in the direction he'd seen the weasel flying, trying to find them, concern flicking through him.

@Envy

After a moment of hesitation, Envy clumsily pulled themselves out of the rubble and rock dust, sneezing and choking. It was probably due to their own minute body weight in addition to the semi-soft landing that they'd narrowly avoided injury. They heard Pride calling their name- somewhere nearby, but probably on the other side of a wall or two. Perfect- Envy took the chance to shake dust from their hide and groom themselves with a rough tongue before bounding forward. Though their fur looked visibly ruffled, they tried to look as carefree as they had before as they searched for a way back to Pride.

It wasn't like they were tall enough to see over anything, but Envy searched for a crack in the brickwork or some kind of drainage hole, like the one in which they'd made their den, that they could squeeze through.

They padded to and fro, hearing the fawn's hooves clattering frantically against stone. But they couldn't see an easy way through. "I'm right here!" they called, looking at the rough rocks, and dropping to a crouch. All of the practice of tree-climbing and ice grappling would come in helpful here. As an afterthought, they added: "Don't worry, I'm indestructable."

With barely a moment to plan their route, the weasel began to scale the wall, weaving their way between narrow ledges and wrenching their tiny paws into minute cracks for grip. Soon, they appeared, perched on top of the wall and looking at where they and Pride had previously spoken. They liked it up here, they decided; the little weasel spread their length along the wall, looking like a relaxing cat as they draped one paw over the edge.

"Now, where were we?"


"Speech."

@Pride

Pride slowly blinked, tilting his head as the weasel scurried back up. They seemed rather indomitable, in a sense: very confident, very cocky, and--apparently--relatively indestructible. Amusement curled through him, and vague appreciation.

"So... it would seem. Very strong," he agreed. He liked this little one already. He wished that he knew them well enough to entrust them with his deeper suspicions about Reseda, but he couldn't. He'd given what information he could, planted the seeds of truth and doubt in the weasel as best he could. His pale eyes drifted over Envy. "Are you unharmed, then? We were..." he looked around, then back to Envy.

Gently, delicately and with amusement, he sent out his mind and its power, trying to lift Envy and deposit them lightly on his back. "We were speaking, but also eating, and I am... hungry, still. You may come with me?"

He paused, waiting to see if Envy would try to struggle out of the tentative grip of his magicka, before adding--"May I ask... Why you named yourself, Envy?"

@Envy

Envy jolted upright as Pride called them strong. They appeared immensely pleased, their small tail flicking erratically. They combed the fur of their chest proudly. "Strong? Of course I am!" they declared, gesturing to their chest dramatically. The deer still seemed to doubt, though, and Envy nodded vigorously. "Of course I am! I'm Env- aaaaaargh!" The little weasel let out a shrill sound of indignance as they were lifted bodily from their spot atop the wall.

They squirmed and strained, but found that they couldn't quite get free as they were raised from the wall.

"--The fuck are you doing!?" they squealed shrilly, thrashing and just barely managing to not fall as they were dropped onto the fawn's back with very little of their dignity intact. They glared at Pride, looking thoroughly stung. "What was that for?" they protested, swiping their paws over their ruffled chest aand neck to smooth the fur as much as they could. "If you wanted me to ride you, you could have just asked..."

They were still grumbling as Pride continued speaking. "You say that like I had a choice," they said disapprovingly, although they didn't make any move to leave, just kept on smoothing themselves gruffly. The fawn's next question though, seemed enough of a detraction to stop the grumbling, and the grooming. They sank down into the fluffy white fur, and hummed in consideration.

"It's because of my gem," they said finally, tail twitching. They hesitated before speaking further. "It's toxic. And... it's in my throat. I can't eat or drink, so... I've got real good at magic to make up for that. And I didn't even get big enough to compensate."

Their tone, for once, was dull and emotionless, punctured by the vaguest twang of bitterness.

"And when I emerged there was..." they hesitated, a dull ache throbbing in their chest. "...Someone else there. They were so strong that it hurt me, and they said that it was Envy. Jealousy is the only thing I remember from back then. Everything else being so big, so powerful, so content... able to ease their hunger or thirst... and then... me."

Envy forced a grin.

"But it's made me strong. I've survived the unsurvivable, beaten all the odds. I should die every day, but I don't. Nothing will ever get the best of me."


"Speech."

@Pride

Pride apologized at once, tone gracious. "I... apologize, it was meant to be... friendliness. Ahh. Affection, in a--harmless way." He plodded placidly back toward his grass for a few steps, then paused, eyeing it. He was listening to Envy, but also remembering that the grass was dead--and now the weasel was explaining why.

Thoughtful, he turned, picking his way toward another patch. "Do you think that your... envy, made you stronger, then? Or-... Undergoing the hardships that you have suffered through?" As before, his words came slowly, each one carefully and precisely chosen. As he moved along, his mind was already flicking over possibilities. "You drained life from plants, then, for their essence; is it possible to... find a magic that can, hmm, encase the gem, at least a bit? A plant, or... ice, though--that would burn. Slime, water? Something like that?"

He paused, having reached a bit of still-living grass, and began to take a few swatches to eat. He flicked an ear, and his tail wriggled a little with pleasure despite himself. He wondered what it might be like, to be unable to eat, and paused, tilting his head so he could see Envy on his back. "Does it bother you, that others eat?" he asked. "If so, then it would be... rude, for me to... eat, in your presence."

@Envy

"Could've fooled me," Envy grumbled softly, before turning their attention back to the matter at hand. They did seem to accept the apology though, and relaxed somewhat, tail still twitching, tickling the young deer's back.

The question Pride presented them caused another pause, as they considered. "You could say both, I suppose," they said finally, looking down at the grass from their tall perch. "When others show me magic, it's easy for me to steal- er- learn it. But without the hardship, I wouldn't need any of it." They craned their neck upwards, peering at pride curiously as he continued to question. "Nothing that I've heard of. Gem, maybe? But that'd probably fall off, and besides, it's big and uncomfortable enough as it is. I don't need to add on any extra layers."

Envy paused, falling silent as Pride began to eat. The watched, finding their gaze hooked, and stared as though mystified, finding it near-impossible to look away. After a time, though, they let out a gruff sigh and forced themselves to look away. Pride's question brought their gaze sliding back to him. They swallowed, feeling their gem catch in their throat, drooling a little despite themselves, even if the deer was only feeding on tasteless, and probably foul-tasting grass. "...Maybe," they answered gruffly, after a long pause. Then they rolled their eyes. "I mean, I am... y'know... Envy, after all."

"Speech."

@Pride

Pride straightened at once, turning away from the grass and ambling back toward the Throne. He hummed in consideration, for a moment, ignoring the weasel's tail--and its drool.

"Well, I was thinking... a thin-... Coating?" he said hesitantly, unsure for a moment if the word was correct. But it sounded it, at least. "There are some plants, that when I tried to eat them, they had a... sticky middle. Hm. Yes--sticky. It dried to my fur. Like--sap? It might be... hard to manage. I can try to help, with my magic. If you wish to try it. I could move it, like I moved you."

Pride knew it would be a temporary solution at best--to coat Envy's gem with thin resin, or sap of some kind. But it could always be reapplied, and if it were that uncomfortable, it might truly help them. "Speaking of... magic," he continued, smoothly turning the conversation away just in case it bothered Envy--they might not wish to speak of the gem too much, after all. "You learn it, from others? Has Reseda taught you all she knows? If not, perhaps you might like... to learn from one another?"

He cast a questioning glance over his shoulder at Envy, slowing as he came to the foot of the Throne.

@Envy

Envy thought about the deer's offer some more, and couldn't help but shudder at the thought of forcing themselves to eat something sticky- or at least, to somehow stick it to their gem. And they were even less keen on the idea of Allowing Pride to have a go. Just the thought of Pride trying and struggling and reforming a sticky goop in their mouth without them having any kind of control... a familiar bout of nausea rose unbidden in their stomach. They shuddered, using a hind leg to itch at their side, the sensation a welcome distraction. "I think I'll pass," they said, sitting upright and holding up their paws, baring the pads to Pride. "The sickness isn't so bad anymore, it's just the eating that's a problem, and... sap wouldn't help with that. Besides, I'm used to it."

Envy breathed out a small, whistling sigh of relief as Pride changed the subject onto one of their favourites; magic. They lowered themselves back down into the deer's fur on all fours, where they could balance more easily. "Yes?" they asked eagerly, craning their long neck up towards Pride. "Yes, of course! My main element is... uh. Animal, but I've also dabbled in light, earth, fire, water, electricity, and plant. Probably some others that I've forgotten. If I see someone do something useful or cool or, most importantly, powerful, you can bet your furry ass that I'm gonna figure it out." Envy waved a paw dismissively as they jumped at the chance to boast of their ability, and was equally intrigued as Pride offered the chance to learn from him. Envy rubbed their paws together. They always loved learning new magicks. "Reseda? Well, she said she'd teach me some magic, but we're still working on it. I haven't managed to perfect it yet. And, unless she's... not very good at magic, she definitely hasn't taught me everything."

Their eyes glistened with a want for knowledge and they nodded eagerly, their lilac gaze meeting Pride's.

"Speech."

@Pride

Pride idly lowered himself, slowly enough so as not to tip Envy off unexpectedly. He folded his long legs beneath him, and settled himself, thinking. His mind had now left the topic of the sap and the gem, though he bore it in mind as a possibility. Perhaps if he could later find a stone and coat it, and show Envy, it might convince them. But for now, his mind had drifted along with Envy's words, and he was thinking on Reseda and on magic.

"She shares my abilities, I think. Magic of the mind, and of pure force, energy. To... manipulate. With the mind." He considered, turning his gaze absently to the throne. He wasn't too familiar with the various types of magic, let alone by any official names--Reseda had listed many, but he had promptly forgotten most, rather overwhelmed by the list what with his still-limited vocabulary. "If you show me some of yours, I could... perhaps show you mine. I can... create a double, of myself. See through it. Hear. I can... hm. Pick things up with the mind. Move them, or... throw them. Harm them. I can throw things away from myself."

For a long while he paused again, thinking. He had been toying with other uses to his magic, but he was unsure how to expand his arsenal just yet. He had to get creative--that much, he knew. He also left out the fact that he could read minds, and speak to them--he didn't want Reseda to know that, not now and not ever. If she ever turned on them, he wanted to know well in advance.

Speaking of which--what were this little one's motives? He glanced back curiously at Envy.

"She wishes to be the... strongest, in the caves. Feared, respected, by all. It is why she... learns, trains. What of you? Is that what you would wish? Why do you learn?"

@Envy

"Mind and energy. That's two that I don't know," Envy said eagerly. They had to consider long and hard Pride's offer, slowly stroking their chin. They liked the idea of learning energy and arcane magic from Pride, but the idea od sharing some of their own, especially after they'd already shared some with Reseda, was unappealing to say the least. They liked to keep what was theirs, theirs, even if they had technically stolen them from others. They noticed then that Pride had lowered himself to the ground, and Envy scrambled down from their perch, brushing themselves of any white fur that might have stuck.

Pride wanted them to show off their magic first. Maybe, something that was reklatively menial, or... similar to something they already knew. They spoke of being able to make a double of themselves, and Envy knew that they could one-up that. Now could be the perfect time to show off how powerful they were. But that would also mean sharing. They paced in slow circles, the desire to show off gradually winning over their desire to keep it all to themselves. They convinced themselves that their magic would probably be too complicated for the young deer, anyway. But still. "Promise you won't share it with anyone else?" they asked slowly, turning back to Pride. and then they added in a more hushed voice, raising a paw to their mouth. "Especially Reseda. She's already had her share."

Without hesitating too long, Envy dropped onto all fours and focused, feeling the threads of magic in their gem ripe for the picking. But they glanced up at the last moment to make sure Pride promised, and the tendrils of magic floated out of their grasp.

When Pride's question of their motives reached them, they sat up again, thinking. "I want to be the best," Envy said. They spread their paws dramatically, trying to appear proud and grand and kingly. "Someone told me once stories about kings and gods, and, so... what I really want is to be a God-King! For the caves to look at me with respect and admiration, and for everyone to know my name and how strong I am, and what I had to go through to get it. Then, no-one will ever look at me again and think 'what a poor, weak little thing'... I want something no-one else can have, so then I won't feel jealous anymore."

"Speech."

@Pride