Envy spent another long moment deliberating, and trying to convince themselves not to bow down to the fetch quest quite so easily. But the longer they waited, the harder it became, until finally they realized; I'm gonna say yes anyway. So why delay it? So with a decisive hop, the weasel dropped down to all fours. "Screw it. I'm in. You couldn't have picked a better weasel for the job. Or... any other gem, for that matter..." Envy realized that there weren't too many other weasels in the caves and silently kicked themselves for that oversight. But they pretended not to have noticed.

Pride asked about Lusts whereabouts. An easy question. "Orion, next to my den," they answered without missing a beat, bounding over to one of the deer's forelimbs and, providing that Pride remained still, attempting to scale it. "I helped her build her nest, too. So that's where she'll be. I can guide you there."

"Speech."

@Pride

Pride stood motionless, allowing himself to be climbed.

"Very good; we can warn them, I suppose, and I can see if I can catch any scent of Reseda. Hmm." Pride briefly hummed to himself in thought.

"You know, the creature was ranting on and on about causing pain because she enjoyed harming. There may be others in the caves she has tried to hurt. It may be worth asking those you run into. Perhaps they have seen her, and know where to find her--or better yet, want revenge. You would be less likely to get hurt if there are more with you." It didn't escape him that, compared to Blackberry, Envy was tiny. But it didn't escape him, either, that the little creatures was tough as nails; he just had no desire to be responsible for their death.

"Now-... Orion, yes? Which way is that--this way?" He took a few steps, tentative--he could not see, after all. Not very well, at least. But he could smell, and hear, and after a moment he was confident that at least he was headed toward the right tunnel.

@Envy

"And if you fail, I could always try some kind of magic. There's gotta be something out there for... that kind of thing," Envy considered thoughtfully, now perched comfortably on the white deer's back, half blissfully submerged in soft white fur. It had been some time since Envy had explored their native element, but with the spells they'd learned relating to their vision, they could bet there were a few for other spells linked to the senses, too.

Envy turned to look up towards the stag's head, even though he couldn't see them. When Pride started moving, Envy scurried up onto the deer's head and perched precariously between his antlers. "Hmmm... Yes, that'd be a good start," they agreed, trying to think if they'd ever heard anyone else who'd run into a creature like that. They couldn't help but feel superior, thinking about how the goose might be the only creature in the caves they didn't envy. Stupid thing. Probably needed to be put out of its misery. When Envy was done with it, Pride would swear loyalty so hard that his antlers would fly right off of his head! Envy grinned at the thought.

"Yes! this way, this way... keep going! You got it!" Envy began to guide, probably unhelpfully, as Pride found his way. Envy found their gaze drawn to the path and they marvelled at how different the world looked from so high up. How amazing it would be to be tall...



"Speech."

@Pride

He picked his way cautiously along, leading with his nose--but found it a bit difficult. For one thing, whenever he went to lower his head, he could feel the weasel precariously perched atop it. At length he settled for just taking scent up at deer-face-level.

Hooves delicately picked through the loamy earth, and he could feel rather than see the ferns that he was brushing aside as he walked.

"And how have you been, otherwise? I would like to say that you look good but I cannot see you. Are you healthy, and unharmed?"

Pride wondered what this "Lust" was like. And what a terribly unfortunate name. Reseda really should rethink these. He almost tossed his head, before remembering Envy sat between his antlers. Still, he hoped, in some vague way, that "Lust" and Envy got on well. Envy had struck him, before, as someone who had been forced to strike out alone, and it seemed somehow beneficial to them to have a companion they could count on, even confide in, if that's what this "Lust" was to them.

@Envy

Envy sat in silence for a while, enjoying the view and the gentle rocking motions from where they had sat before Pride's voice drew them out from the moment of Serenity. It was a good thing, too; as there was a high possibility that the contented ness of it all might have sent them off to sleep. It was a relatively simple question, but in the grand scheme of things, not terribly interesting. The weasel's tail twitched against Pride's neck. "As healthy as I can be considering. And as ravishing as ever, of course... You're really missing out," Envy chirped, as though they were only half joking.

They went back to admiring the flowers and scenery. Envy hadn't expected to be returning to Orion so soon, but they reminded themselves that Lust was their responsibility now, and she had to be taken care of. Despite themselves, they looked forward to seeing her again. They just hoped that she wouldn't take to Pride too much...

Envy tried to shrug off the thought and think of a conversational topic to pass the journey quickly.

-Exit Envy-

"Speech."

@Pride

Missing out..? "Missing out because I have not seen you in some time? Perhaps," he agreed. "But it would not be a bad thing to see you more often. I found others to train with. One was a black dog, by the name of Aster, and she badly hurt herself in training. I have been caring for her, to some extent. There is a young bird, too, that I was looking after."

It was hard to keep in touch with everyone when there were so many for whom he had become responsible. In some ways he wasn't too unlike Envy; both had picked up, quite unwittingly, youths to raise alongside themselves, in a sense. Or perhaps it was something a little different in Envy's case, particularly given the wretched thing's name.

He would see for himself, he supposed, soon enough.

exit Pride