Walking alone again, no one around. No one to talk to or to speak about her worries. Her encounter with Khloros had given her knowledge, certainly, and the realization that she really did like talking and discussing. But also the idea of death and the possibility of it in her future. But when that would happen, she wasn't sure and why? That was not something she knew either. But he had known and he knew many things. If he had said she was dying, then she was probably dying.

But that wasn't stopping her. Amazon knew what she wanted. She wanted to learn and to grow, discover everything, go everywhere, meet as many people as she could before it ended. And if that was soon, then she didn't want to waste any time. But first, she felt like she had to return to somewhere familiar. Polaris, where she had hatched. She would finish her first cycle here, she decided, explore the whole cave before she left again.

She stood by the river, something she had only heard in the distance before. But here it was, flowing rapidly by. She sniffed along the bank and gazed into the water, the crystalline, beautiful water. It was worth coming here. Despite the strength at which the river flowed by, she felt a sense of peace just being near it. The earth here felt warm and she softly lay herself on her stomach, gazing off at the river.

She felt a faint churning in her stomach, but ignored it, hoping that it wouldn't turn into something bad. She didn't want to have to deal with the sickness now, not while she was in such a good mood.

@Envy

Envy wasn't sure what had caused them to swing by Polaris on the way home to Orion. Perhaps it was the cold claws of hunger that once again sank into their belly, or maybe it was the thought of the less-than-appetizing looking mosses and lichens that clung to the rocky walls. Envy couldn't taste what they absorbed, but they liked to pretend that they had some kind of standards. With the pretty lights here and the change of scenery, the weasel might as well have been taking themselves on a date.

With their stomach vaguely satiated, the weasel was slinking down to the river for a drink of water that was fresh and cool, unlike the odd-tasting water they'd found in Fornax. Creeping down to the water's edge, they lapped up their fill, and it was only when they'd begun to leave that they noticed a small figure nearby. Curious, the weasel slunk closer, using their tongue to clean their whiskers of crystalline droplets. As they drew closer, the figure strangely failed to loom over them.

Their fur seemed to ripple before fading into the dark, their lilac eyes glistening briefly in the lights.

It was unmistakably a lizard, shadowed by all the bright lights beyond them. But it was a very small lizard, especially when compared to the last they'd met. Envy raised their head from their slinking stance and scuttled over. Like a shark they prowled around the lizard, sniffling and tilting their head. It was all too rare they ever got to meet someone their own size; they couldn't waste this opportunity before finally shedding their magic like water and fading into existence.

"It's a dangerous place for someone so small, y'know," they said pointedly, as though the lizard could help it... And as though they weren't. With great satisfaction, Envy noted that they were bigger. Much bigger, in fact. Even if the lizard ended up growing huge, they'd savour this moment whilst it lasted. Rising onto their hindpaws, Envy gave them a sharp-toothed grin.

"Speech."

@Amazon

Amazon's eyes were beginning to drift shut, lulled by the sound of the river when a sudden voice made her flinch. She looked to her side and was surprised to see a creature not much bigger then her standing right in front of her. She had not noticed it approach and she wondered how it was able to sneak up on her like that. Perhaps she was just a little tired.

At its comment, she looked it up and down, noting that it was, also, relative to the others she had met, very small. "Probably," she replied, dryly. Her stomach squirmed again, but she ignored it. The last thing she wanted right now was to get sick in front of this creature. It was making her feel like she needed to impress it somehow, although she wasn't sure exactly why she wanted to. Perhaps because they were both small. Perhaps because of its demeanor. She would try not to judge, though. She wanted to make peace with other gembounds, not war.

"But where are all the dangers? I haven't met a single thing so far in my life that wants to harm me. So why should I be worried or scared?" She had found that she liked this, questioning. Discussing. Trading viewpoints and opinions and wisdom. She then realized that proper introductions hadn't happened just yet so she hastily added, "I'm Amazon, by the way."

@Envy

Envy raised their head slightly, squinting at the little lizard. "What, no-one's ever tried to eat you before? Giant birds, for a start. Dogs, wolves, coyotes, snakes... None of em'll give you a second glance if you look tasty enough, just you wait! And even if they don't wanna eat you, sleep in the open or talk too quiet and they might step on you, instead! One wrong move and... Squish!" Envy clapped their paws together dramatically in front of their chest.

"Believe me, it gets harder the tastier you look..." they took another slow, long look at the lizard, and wrinkled their nose. "But then again... you might be safe." They snickered into a paw, glancing back at her as she introduced herself. Amazon. Envy straightened up, placing one paw squarely and nobly on their chest. They grinned.

"Envy."

They seemed to be enjoying themselves. The weasel's tail twitched at their back, nearly tying itself in knots, and they gestured grandly with their free paw.


"Speech."

@Amazon

Amazon shifted nervously at Envy's words. Perhaps she had been extremely fortunate to not come across any greater gembounds that would want to hurt her or any lessers that didn't know any better. But did she looked tasty? She wasn't sure really what was tasty or not when it came to lizards. She looked back at herself and thought about what it would be like to eat her. With all of those spikes? She tried to think about eating a large bug with a shell like her scales. That wouldn't be fun.

She looked back at Envy and thought that, if she were a wolf or a bigger creature, they certainly would be more appetizing. She gave them a crooked smile. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to eat me with scales like mine. I'd probably be better off then you, at least." There was a hint of amusement in her voice, not meaning any offense to the young weasel.

But what a strange name they had. Envy. She knew that word, it meant jealousy. Desire. Amazon was curious about the name, curious about this creature. She had to ask it some questions. "Envy...why that name? What do you have to be envious about?"

@Envy

Envy took Amazon's silence as a sign that their words had had a clear effect. They kept on grinning, but the silence soon bored them. When the lizard finally spoke, Envy paused for a moment, but not for long. "Lucky you, huh? I'm just too handsome for my own good. Who wouldn't want a piece of this?" they tilted their head and gestured once more to their skinny form.

Envy blinked at their question, blowing out a decidedly exasperated breath. They needed to come up with a better way to explain it. It was getting to be a bore. Seriously, in a world of 25-syllible names and pretentious nicknames, was Envy really that odd? It was certainly more... to the point, than most names, but wasn't that the point of a name? It was supposed to represent them, after all, no matter how much they hated it.

Finally, the weasel dropped onto their paws, looked the lizard dead in the eye, and opened their jaws wide. They revealed fangs glistening with red saliva, and the gem buried in the inflamed, sore-looking flesh of their tongue. The scent of sickness washed out on every fetid breath, metallic and toxic and faintly heady with bile.

After a few seconds, they closed their jaws and looked at the lizard. They peeled back their lips in a grimacing smile and said: "I'm called Envy, because that's what makes me strong."


"Speech."

@Amazon

Amazon giggled a little bit at Envy's words. She had no idea if they were being sarcastic or not, but all the same, it was funny to her. Certainly, they had nice fur, but she was certain that she would come across more beautiful creatures then them. She had certainly come across uglier...who's to say there wouldn't be a glorious creature somewhere?

But she was a little confused when Envy got down in front of her and opened their jaws wide. For a moment she didn't know what she was seeing but then everything came to her. It was wrong. She hadn't much seen the inside of any creature's mouth, but it couldn't look like that. Puffy and red and smelling terrible, like an infected wound. Horror went through her body and she suddenly became very aware of the gem on her head. She was lucky that her gem wasn't toxic like Envy's...right? It wasn't toxic either, right?

But she didn't know about the tissue around the shard that was starting to turn red like Envy's tongue. It was only a bit, but it was there all the same. The faint stinging that came with it she only assumed to be a natural byproduct of having rocks embedded in the body. She paid it no heed.

"That looks painful," she whispered as they went back to normal. "How do you live like that? Do you get sick? What kind of stone is it? How do you eat? Drink?" Her curiosity was getting a hold of her and the questions came out fast, as if she hadn't intended for them to spill from her mouth. But she stared at them wide-eyed and so fascinated, hating herself for being so interested. This was someone's life...but she couldn't help wanting to know more about it.

@Envy

Envy revelled in the attention, smirking at the horror written across their face. The silence told them everything they needed. When she started questioning them, the weasel closed their eyes. "Painful? Oh, it is," they expressed mournfully, rolling their eyes dramatically. "But it's just something that I have to live with... It's not like I had any choice in the matter. But without it, I wouldn't be anywhere near as strong. I'm going to be the most powerful creature in the caves one day, and it's all because of this."

They paused, thinking how best to milk the current situation for all it was worth. "I used to get sick, when I was... stupid and weak. But I'm past it now. I use it! I use everything that hurt me to become strong!" They dug their front claws into the ground beneath their paws. They questioned what kind of gem it was, and Envy shrugged, thinking; somewhere, probably from instinct alone, they pulled up a name. and it felt right. "Cinnabar."

Finally, the question they'd been waiting for. Eating and drinking; the most important things to any living creature in the caves. They rose up onto their hind paws and shrugged. "I don't."


"Speech."

@Amazon

Amazon wondered what it would be like to live with something like that at the back of her throat. No eating, no drinking. Eternally painful. Sick all the time. Well, the last one she knew a bit about. She was usually okay, but she did get sick more often then what she felt was natural. That would be terrible.

She was impressed at Envy's confidence in themselves and also wondered if she would be the same in their situation. She couldn't answer it, though - she would never be in their situation and it felt wrong to put herself next to them.

Although she still had more questions for them. She wanted to get all the information she could about them, she wanted to know everything. And they, apparently, had a good time talking about themselves. So Amazon continued to serve out question after question. "How are you going to do that? Can you use magic? Is that what you mean? And you say that like there's other things that hurt you. What else is there and how did they make you strong? A-and...how did you stop being sick? I'm just asking because I get sick sometimes too and it would be nice to know how to stop it." The thought came to her just as she was saying it and realized that she might get more then information from Envy. Perhaps she would also get a cure to her sickness or even a diagnosis.

After a moment, she waited for Envy to elaborate, but when they didn't she tilted her head with confusion. "B-but, how do you survive? Don't you need food and water? Some kind of nourishment to keep yourself going just as you need air to breath? How do you do that with the...cinnabar in the back of your throat?"
@Envy

Envy received the questions with a contented, smug expression, and settled themselves close to the ground again in a relaxed manner, preparing for a lot of bragging. They cleared their throat. "Yes, magic. I can't just use magic, I live it. Everyone says I'm one of the strongest magic users in the cave- show me something new and I'll learn it. Guaranteed! Doesn't matter how hard or how dangerous, I'm a prodigy. And soon, others will know it too."

Envy's tail flicked in eagerness, but they hesitated at the next one. "When I see others, crowned with greatness just by existing, who've never had to live through this and act like the world is theirs... and some magicks hurt too. But I get through it, and I use it anyway." That felt about right. made them seem justified, like a little vigilante. And stronger. All stronger. They bristled a little bit at the question of how they dealt with the sickness, wondering if they could really be convinced to share again. But... Reseda had probably already spread the word of the spell they'd taught her, and Envy was starting to quite like this little lizard. So, after a moment's hesitation, they spoke.

"The sickness? Well, it went away after a cycle or two of not eating. And to do that, you just have to absorb what you need from food, from plants and dead things around you instead. Nothing to throw up, yes?" Envy placed their head on a paw, looking intently at the lizard, having answered two questions in one. "But when it can't be helped, I just use it for something else instead."

The weasel gave a wry smirk, and focused on the nausea ever-present in the pit of their belly, bringing it to the surface. With a smug glance to make sure Amazon was watching, they shuddered, letting slide a small retch. Their stomach tightened, and they turned their gaze away. Power flooded through their fur, a repulsive knot in the pit of their stomach forming, and finally the weasel spat a bellyful of bile away from the lizard- bile that crackled, sparked and hummed quietly, flickering with odd sparks and lightning.

Envy shuddered- it might have made a good display, but they'd forgotten how awful it felt. They stuck their tongue out to try ignoring the taste.

"Speech."