Amazon had heard about magic from Rinaotei before and she had witnessed it too. But Envy said that they used it to survive and she simply couldn't see that crazy water spell being any sort of useful to someone who couldn't eat or drink. Excited and wanting to see more types of magic, she lifted her head, eyes shining. "Ooooo, can you show me some magic? I don't often get to see it, especially if it's from a master!"

Some magics hurt...like the one that Khloros had used to simply wipe the life out of the grass. She wasn't sure she like the idea of that, but Envy made it seem that there were a lot of creatures like that out there. She would have to be careful...and perhaps not to dabble in it herself for fear of injury. "I see. That's a pity that some people can be like that." She had no idea exactly what it was that made Envy so mad about others. She hadn't met anyone that thought the caves were theirs just because they existed, but she still had a question to pose. "But...do you mean pride in living? Crowned with greatness just by living...isn't living a wonderful thing to be proud of, even if hardship doesn't stick to it like it does to you?"

She frowned a little at the thought of absorbing nutrients. "Hmm, I don't know. For me it doesn't matter what I eat or don't eat. If I get sick, I get sick. It doesn't happen all the time so I can still eat and everything but...no, I'd rather stick to eating. Is there anything else that helped it stop?"

As Envy started to focus on something, she took a step back, wondering what he was about to do. When the bile spat out of his mouth, Amazon had to immediately look away and gave a small squeak of surprise and disgust. She could never do something like that. "Oh, um, that's cool. Sorry, I know it's probably useful for you, but I don't think I'd be able to...do that..." Bile rose in her throat at the thought, but she managed to hold it down, forcing it back into her tossing stomach. Her head was starting to hurt a little bit too so she shook it out...but that only made it a bit worse.

@Envy

More magic?! Amazon was sure pushing a hard bargain. Envy narrowed their eyes slightly and hummed thoughtfully. They'd already shown her a little... and they didn't like to share, but their ego clamoured for gratification and this one made them feel flattered. But what did they get out of it? Finally, the weasel grinned. "Tell you what, show me something of yours and I'll show you something cool." Seemed fair to them.

"It is. I hate it," Envy muttered, looking away from Amazon and out over the river, a trace of sourness in their voice. But the little one had misunderstood them, and their gaze slid towards her before grunting softly. "Of course not! I mean the ones who stuff their faces with food right in front of me and enjoy every second of it. The ones who complain because they' have one thing less than everything, and the ones who strut around so tall and strong, and rub their happiness in the faces of people like us." Envy stood up on their four paws and mimed a strut, but with such short legs and skinny form, the effect was more comical.

The lizard continued on about their sickness, and Envy dropped themselves back onto their belly, lowering their head close to the ground. "Sorry, kid. Even I haven't got rid of it. Just found my way around the worst of it. At least you can eat at all," they pointed out, with little sympathy to speak of.

The little lizard's reaction to their spell, the disgust, elicited a small giggle. All the unpleasantness was worth it then, their teeth bared in a grin. At least she wouldn't be stealing that spell. "What can I say? I make use of what I have," they drawled smugly.

"Speech."

@Amazon

Amazon watched with excitement, waiting for something awesome to happen, but then her face fell. If this was to be a trading of presentations, she would be the utter failure. She had never used a spell in her life and wondered if she even possessed the ability to cast anything. "But...I don't know how to use magic. I don't have anything to show you. Sorry...." Would Envy be disappointed with her? Would they not want to talk to her anymore?

But she understood now, what Envy was trying to tell her and she realized that she didn't have an argument. She agreed, wholeheartedly, with what Envy was saying. She would feel the same way too, although she had been fortunate enough not to meet any in person, if Khloros didn't count.

She looked down and dragged her claw around through the rock absentmindedly, disappointed that Envy didn't have anything else to help her get over her sickness, or even any idea of what was wrong with her. "That's okay. I don't even know what's causing it anyways. Although I was told that I might be dying from something, but even they had no idea what it is."

@Envy

"Oh, you don't?" Envy's brow rose. that was a nice surprise. It might mean the weasel could strut their stuff without fear, and they found themselves warming to this little lizard. Not only was Amazon even smaller than they were, but she seemed t suffer some of the same sickness, and there was no chance of her ever stealing their magic! Why hadn't they found this little creature earlier? "Well, alright then!" they said gleefully. "In that case, lemme give you something good to chew on."

The weasel sat up straight and tried to look regal, a grin tugging at their cheeks as they felt the magic bubbling to the surface of their gem. But alas, in their eagerness, the magic failed to manifest, and Envy winced slightly, lowering their ears. "Gimme a minute... Magic can be... temperamental."

Envy tilted their head as Amazon began to trace a claw through the rock, and Envy blinked a few times, unsure of what else to do in this situation. In response to her words, Envy was quite taken aback. they found their tail flickering, paws folded awkwardly against their chest. "Maybe they were just messing with ya, or being dramatic. I mean... I've survived, haven't I?" The weasel gave a shrug. "As for what causes it..." Envy slunk forward towards the little one, close enough almost to touch, and their nose twitched curiously as they lowered their head to try sniffing the gem spike on the back of her head. "Well, your gem doesn't smell poisonous..."



"Speech."

Amazon watched patiently, not realizing that Envy had, in fact, failed their spell. She had little to no knowledge about magic, after all, and would not be able to tell the difference between a difficult spell and a failed one. At the mention of the horse lying, she shook her head. He had not been a liar. There was something about him, honest and blunt, no need to lie and be anything but truthful. "No, I don't think he was lying. He just didn't really seem like the type that would lie. They could be wrong, though."

She instinctively moved away a bit as Envy came close, a little shy and surprised at their closeness. "Oh, um, I don't know if its poisonous. I mean, its not in my mouth like yours? I don't know if it's what's causing me to 'die'. Although it is kind of hot to the touch, I don't know if that's normal or not."

And, of course, there was the reddening scales around the base of the gem that she did not know about at all. But Amazon truly did not think that there was anything wrong with her gem. It was just a gem, right?

@Envy

"If not lying, maybe misguided. But what do I know?" Seeing Amazon pull away, Envy flinched slightly, narrowing their eyes. "I don't bite, you know!" they said irritably, appearing momentarily offended. They leaned in again, trying to get a closer look- but not as close as before. They peered at the gem, taking in its shape, and how it appeared at the base... swollen and reddened, just like their tongue whenever they gaped their jaws and peered into a still pool... something they admittedly hadn't done for a while.

"I don't know... Looks a little funny to me," They raised themselves onto two paws and tutted, folding their paws against their chest. "And I'd know. I've seen all sorts of gems." They avoided mentioning just how jealous they were of all of them.

"Dunno if that matters. I've also never met anyone with the same gem as mine. Maybe it doesn't even matter that it's in my mouth. Maybe I'd have it just as bad on my head. Who knows?"

They lowered themselves down, tail twitching. "Mine burns and itches, but I don't think you should know it's there, really."

"Speech."

@Amazon

Amazong listened to Envy with a growing sense of dismay. Everything he was talking about made her fear her gem more and more. Perhaps it was the cause of all of this. Perhaps her very life source was the reason she was going to die! "Oh no..." she whispered, her eyes wide.

Did it look a little funny? She turned towards the river and scuttled forward, leaning a little forward so she could see her reflection in the water. It was hard with the water moving so fast, but then she saw it. Envy was right, the scales around her gem were red and irritated. She reached up and touched it, gingerly. That area had always felt a bit funny and when her claws touched it, her fear was confirmed as the wounded skin stung angrily.

"Mine burns and itches sometimes too," she whispered, fearfully. "But I thought that was normal. I thought everyone had that! I thought that it was magic or something hurting your skin!" Her words grew more and more distressed as she realized that this felt right - that her gem was the cause of her sickness. She felt a wave of nausea roll up her stomach and she retched, but managed to hold it in, freezing for a moment, holding her breath, until it went away.

She gasped, breathing heavily as tears began to form at her eyes.

@Envy

Envy scuttled after the lizard, peering into the water after her. The weasel slowly lowered themselves onto their belly, looking sideways at her, surprisingly without a smirk. The weasel seemed surprisingly mellow compared to their usual demeanor, but that didn't stop their tail from thrashing. "You'll get used to the idea after a while, don't worry," they said, an edge of sharpness to their voice- as though they were still bitter. They motioned with a paw towards the gem spike. "I mean, it's not going anywhere."

They watched her touch at the irritated skin around the gem, and remained silent until she spoke. Envy looked at the river again. "Nope, just us," Envy said. Finally they smiled mirthlessly. "Welcome to the club, squirt."

Envy leaned away from the kid as she started to retch, closing their eyes and grunting as the sound stirred something in their own belly. The weasel gulped back the feeling, their throat closing tight around their gem, and tasted metal. But luckily, the taste of bile remained inside them. As the feeling waned into a vague dizziness, Envy breathed out a toxic-smelling breath and muttered softly to themselves. "Gross..."



"Speech."

She shivered as she began to cry, feeling a wave of guilt for making Envy feel sick as well. "S-sorry..." she muttered as she rubbed her upset stomach. She could still feel it churning as well as a headache coming on, but she tried to keep herself steady, even if it was just for Envy's sake.

She looked back at the weasel, tears starting to drop from her eyes as dread settled in her stomach. So the horse was right. She was dying and it was her gem that was doing it to her. "So...I am dying. And there's nothing I can do about it." She looked away, a little embaressed that she was crying in front of her new friend.

"You're not dying too, right? You found ways to get through it? By using magic to eat and drink. But...how do I use magic to get through this? It's not in my mouth. I can eat and drink fine. How do I protect myself from something that's a part of me?"

@Envy

Envy gritted their teeth. What were they meant to say to any of this? They slowly turned back towards Amazon, expression unreadable but showing a flicker of discomfort. This was so far out of their comfort zone, that they might as well have been on another planet entirely. "...It's fine," they responded hastily, tail twitching.

They sighed, air whistling out in between their teeth as the lizard started to ponder doom and gloom. Show that she knew it was her gem, that meant she was gonna die, did it? Envy felt almost insulted. "Listen here, you're not gonna die just because one dude said so," they snapped, tail twitching. "I slopped out into this world in a puddle of poison- couldn't walk, couldn't eat, barely hold my head up... I'm sure I poisoned my mo- er... Aaliyah..." they paused at the stinging ache that took root in their chest. "And I'm sure they said the same about me, when I wasn't listening. But look at me now!"

She was talking about magic now- and that was more up Envy's alley. The weasel's form, which had started to twitch uncomfortably- seemed to relax slightly, bristling fur starting to flatten. "That's right. And there's other spells like that, I'm sure. Healing spells that might ease the irritation. Maybe spells to break off pieces of that damn stone. I'm sure of it." They'd never used any kind of spells like the ones they described, but, by closing their eyes and feeling along the threads of their magic- they were able to at least get a feeling of their existence. They remembered Reseda trying to absorb nutrients... but it seemed to manifest differently. Was that what it was? That meant it was connected, somehow, to the absorption spell.

Envy's eyes opened. They'd learn the healing spell. Maybe it might help their nausea. Maybe soothe their itching, inflamed tongue. But they didn't know, or care, why they'd need to cleave their stone. They were sure such a thing would only make it sharp.

They shuddered.


"Speech."

@Amazon