Envy grinned excitedly, basking in the praise that Desire showered upon them. They beamed a genuine smile up at the huge creature surrounding them, peering down with red eyes. They nodded. "I know! you should see all the other things I've learned, too. I've been working hard." They mimed counting on their paws, exaggerating the sheer number of spells they'd learned and mastered.

Desire's next words caused hesitation, although they weren't sure why. Why was she talking like that. "Uh... no," they said, trying to keep their usual confidence going, but finding that their voice wavered. "They don't even know it's happened, don't worry." They didn't know why they were trying so hard to cheer up the serpent, but they didn't like the way that her tone had suddenly mellowed. They almost wanted to go back on their word, tell her that it wasn't just lesser Gembound and reassure her... but their pride was more important despite the uncomfortable feeling in their gut.

Envy squirmed slightly in discomfort on the spot, glancing away as they thought. Maybe... just maybe... if they did the same, they'd be able to think of the best way to go about making it better, and keeping their dignity in tact. Yes, it was a perfect plan! And there'd be the added bonus of feeling like... not themselves, at least for a few seconds. Sucking in their breath, Envy inconspicuously focused in on their gem.

In a few moments came the numbness, and then her feelings flowed in. Worry, concern- maybe a hint of guilt. and their body, coldness. They couldn't help but shiver. A small grunt emerged as they looked up at Desire with lilac eyes tinged with worry, eyes that no longer felt like their own. "Don't worry. they don't feel it like we do," they said, in a voice that wasn't their own, tinged with concern beyond their acting ability.


"speak."

@Desire

They don't even know it's happened. Don't worry. Envy's words did little to soothe her heart; she felt like she'd done something wrong. She hadn't like what she'd felt, really, and just thinking that something lesser might be able to feel as she did was disturbing. It defied the belief she had based her hunting practice on, the thing that allowed her to continue killing to live without too much guilt. Don't worry. They don't feel like we do. Desire lifted her gaze, just enough to look at Envy, their words pulling her from her thoughts. "You think so?" she said, softly. She was silent for a moment, but her stare was unwavering, ruby eyes locked with Envy's, unless the weasel wavered. She wondered at the nature of such a thing; life, gembounds, lesser and greater, feeling and not. She began to feel apart, drifting, and even looking into another's eyes could not anchor her. She was unfeeling, but just aware enough to know something was wrong. In a moment of desperation she reached her magic out to Envy; Desire was trying to feel.

And she did - almost? Something sad twinged at her heart, but what she felt was not - right. It was like emotions turned in on themselves, there, but lost, not quite felt, not quite numb. She exhaled, like giving up. Staring.

@Envy

"Of course I do. They don't have complex things like families and friends. They just do what they need to do to survive, and that's kind of sad, really. So... It's a good thing to kill the weak and the hurt ones, right?" Envy struggled and failed to reassure the python, even though their tether to their own emotions was loose at best. But they weren't one to talk; they'd never killed anything in their life. They'd never even tried. They'd only tasted blood once.

Envy felt their magic begin to fade.

Before the magic faded, the strange coldness became a strange numbness- emotion faded into a deep emptiness within them. There was no bitterness, no jealousy, no nausea... no sadness or happiness, either. Even Desire's guilt and concern was gone. Their quick-thinking brain and biting emotions were just a black hole that sucked everything up. They might have been scared, if they had any sense of what was happening. But they didn't, and couldn't. They shivered despite the warmth, and panted despite the cold. Everything seemed to contrast.

Before long, Envy found that their senses had begun to return. They felt the faintest pang of hunger, and a small shock of fear. Feeling trickled back into their heart bit by bit, and the weasel shook their head to try and clear it. They looked up at Desire, and was shocked by her vacant gaze.


"Speech."

@Desire

Envy's words rung hollow. I don't know. I don't think so. I don't want to kill. I don't...

She was empty. Floating in space, disconnected from her lifeline, drifting away from any and all things she may have clung to. There was a vague sense of heat before her, but everything else was so cold. Her mind held true to her form; she could not grasp anything, could not reach. But she had a hold of that warmth. Desire fixed her eyes on it - Envy, before her, but she felt too far away to register anything with that gaze. In her mind, she tried to feel, reach, touch - and grasped at something that felt sparkling, just a little. A little.

A burst of light, shining, glittering yellow in the darkness of her empty soul - it illuminated the world before her, and she gasped, seeing Envy, her friend, and what - what was that? A strange yellow object, sparkling, was before her, unusual in its form and color. Desire stared at it, then at Envy. This was the sparkling thing. The thing that got her out! The heat of Envy, then the sparkle. She'd been saved! "Envy! You did this? What is this thing? You - you saved me! Was I asleep? I feel so much better!" Her ruby eyes were bright, a great contrast from their previous condition, staring up at the weasel with admiration. Envy had summoned the sparkling yellow thing to get her out! Her magic had gone wrong and Envy had brought her back from depths of nothingness. Desire's heart warmed. She felt ingratiated to the weasel.

@Envy

Envy continued struggling against their disconnected psyche, emotions welling and waning like lights beneath the surface of a murky pond. They knew that they should be afraid- maybe they were- but it didn't feel like it. Their own body was like a crypt of the mind, trapping them. How they hated their body, their life... what they wouldn't give to just... shed it. Actually... those feelings were relatively normal. With a thrill of shock and envy, the weasel realized that things were- gradually- coming back. But Desire wasn't. she continued to stare right through them, even as the weasel waved their paws in front of her face, confused and a little bit stricken.

Then suddenly- a burst of magickal life, and something flourished into being. Envy found their gaze drawn, and sniffed, taking in a sweet, fresh scent which they recognized before the product of the magic had finished phasing into existence. They blinked a few times, and then Desire's voice broke through their confusion- in a joyous tone that sent a thrill of relief right through their long body.

"I did? Oh, yes! O-of course I did! Right," they stammered, quick to regain their composure. Maybe the spell was accidental, caused by the sudden influx of emotions. That happened sometimes. And after all, they knew that they could perform it. In an effort to prove that to themselves, Envy sucked in their breath and tried to cast it again, despite their distaste for the lovely-tasting fruit that left a sick feeling in their stomach. The little weasel felt power almost immediately flooding through their fur, causing it to prickle upright, and they gritted their teeth as the fruit surged into existence, almost as big as they were. The weasel wiped their paws on their chest as though they'd been playing in dirt. "Yeah, so... why don't you just eat these? They definitely don't have emotions..."

They couldn't help eyeing the bananas hungrily.


"speak."

@Desire

Desire watched with joy as Envy produced another...thing. Whatever it was, it sure smelled sweet, though it was not exactly appetizing. She swirled herself around Envy, a happy hum coming through her nostrils. Though she was much slower - and larger - now, she still coiled with happiness. Desire made her way around to the fruits, Envy in the space between her coils if they did not move, and she sniffed them. "Yeah, so... why don't you just eat these? They definitely don't have emotions..." Desire thought it was a joke. She laughed, a titter, and fixed her scarlet gaze on Envy. "I can't eat those, silly. I still haven't learned how, anyway." She was trying, really trying, to learn whatever spell Envy must've been using, but she just couldn't figure it out! She didn't want the mood to go dark again, though, and when the image of her trying to swallow one of those fruits, she burst out laughing. "Could you imagine me eating one of those? Swallowing it? For hours?" She giggled more, the thought imprinted stubbornly in her head.

@Envy

Envy peered over the enormous coils of the snake towards her face, blinking stupidly as she laughed, and feeling their fur flush hot with embarrassment. Surely, if there was any magic involved, the little weasel would have flushed bright red down to the end of their tail. As it was, they fluffed up like a toilet brush, but otherwise kept it internalized. "Uh, I knew that, I knew that. Uhm... I meant with magic," they added hastily, after a moment of thought. They let out a high-pitched laugh as she imagined trying to eat it, an Oscar-worthy performance that only sounded slightly forced. They couldn't help but feel a little bit offended, but they kept on laughing anyway, mainly to cover up the embarrassment. "I can! Ahaha. So silly..."


"Speech."

@Desire