[set pre-mutation]

Envy’s fur was starting to prickle with annoyance, their chest rising and falling in sharp motions, tail twitching. The tension was almost too much to bear, but it seemed that they’d finally come to a compromise.

They were shrouded in relative darkness- they weren’t far from tunnel N, but not dangerously close either. And the pair had hoisted themselves onto a low ledge so they couldn’t be seen so easily from below. Pride thought it was perfect, but Pride’s plan didn’t involve any of their strategies that would help hide them from harm’s way, so naturally they felt uneasy. Envy was almost sure that Pride would hear their heart buzzing in their chest. Just for added benefit, they allowed power to crackle through their fur, and shrouded Pride in a cloak of black.

“Okay. Run me through it again?” The weasel asked, with a nervous twitch sending their rear end flexing into the air.

Pride carefully picked his way ever-higher, peering along the ledge and into the darkness where it sank back against the cave wall. It ran both ways--two directions, at least, to escape should too many enemies turn up and somehow spot them. And it was deep enough that they could hide back in its shadows, even with his white coat. The place had been chosen carefully.

He turned toward Envy, nodding his head once.

"We wait. When the goose appears, you hide us in magic, and I do my best to take my fur without her ever seeing it. That's it. We don't draw them out; we don't make ourselves known. With any luck," he added--and began to glance around over the dark rock--"she will never notice it gone. With any luck we will never be spotted. But that's where you come in... it may be a long wait, but the moment we see her, you need to hide us. Shroud us. That magic--that is what will make me call you King... this, and you risking yourself for this. I do appreciate it."

Envy had discovered all that Pride needed. Their bold scouting had given them an edge, and for this he was grateful. Another bow of his head, and a grim glance to Envy as he picked up a stone in his mouth. It was flat, about two inches long, half an inch or so wide. He carried this carefully, slipping back into the deepest shadows to wait.

I hope this works. We are risking much. Much, for his pride.

@Envy

Envy frowned slightly. Waiting seemed like the hardest task of all. They were already itchy from standing around, and this task also required quietness. They could feel their blood running hot, and they were losing energy like water down a plughole. They could already feel their withered stomach crying out with craving for more nutrients; but they couldn't exactly fix it now. They just had to keep going, and hope that it'd be over soon. if It didn't, well... they'd just have to feed right here, but if they had to absorb more energy, the weasel would need to drop their illusion and expose themselves and pride to the world.

They shook their head in a small twitch that shuddered down their twiggy body and made their fur stand on end. "Done and done," they muttered, curling around on the stone by Pride's hooves. They looked up at Pride, lifting a lip slightly in amusement as they noticed the rock the deer was carrying, but deciding not to question it. They were sure they could learn whatever Pride had in mind for themselves.

They opened their jaws again, about to warn pride of their lacking energy reserves, but a sudden stab of fear stopped them. They couldn't appear weak- not now. Not when they were so close.

So with another tense shiver, the weasel coiled and watched, tightening the shadowy shroud around them.



___________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Blackberry
notes: here

Blackberry stormed out of the cave, face contorted with barely controlled fury. At least she had finally recovered now and all of her strength had returned after the multiple blasts of radiation she had taken almost two cycles ago now. But the meeting with the family had left her uneasy about Huckleberry. Her own flesh and blood wasn't fitting well into the family and she knew that she had to make sure, once and for all, that it was even worth keeping them around. She was a merciless mother - if Huckleberry was not one of them, then they were no longer her child.

Huckleberry themselves trailed after her, their head held high and their eyes alight with worry. Despite their never-stable moods, they at least realized that something was up. Blackberry felt a bit of satisfaction that the fool was nervous. Even her own children knew their place beneath her.

She had found something earlier, something that would interest the young hybrid. She knew what she was going to do, or, at least, what Huckleberry was going to do. This would be their test - the thing that proved their loyalty or disloyalty to the family after all.

@Envy @Pride
(Huckleberry won't be posting this round, they're just following her)

It took awhile--a long while, he wasn't sure how much. But at last, he saw the goose emerge. Quiet, as quietly as he could, he leaned out and peered down from his ledge.

Whether he could spot the necklace or not, they'd need cover either way.

"Now," he whispered toward Envy.

Through the milky haze of his self-inflicted near-blindness he stared, trying desperately to pick out the ring of trophies that lined the goose's neck--and to see if his fur was among them. If it was, they could proceed... if not, they had wasted their time.

There! Against all odds, there it was--the faint glimmer of shining white on the grotesque line of death that ringed the bird's throat. Adrenaline jumped through the young stag and he tensed, near-trembling, white-hazed eyes widening a touch.

"I see it," he murmured softly. They were at just enough of a distance that he believed himself to be quiet enough not to be overheard; if Envy could pull off their magical shroud, they were as good as done.

@Envy

Envy felt their interest waning the longer they waited, and they felt the hunger gnawing at their belly gradually intensify before giving out into a dull and fading ache. By the time that Pride spoke up, they jolted to attention from a dreamlike state, shooting upright and summoning their magic with a hasty twitch. The shadows closed around them after a moment of hesitation, shrouding them and Pride once more. Envy huddled down beneath Pride, narrowing their eyes at the goose, and waiting for Pride to do his bit.

They'd done theirs, and that meant they were officially a King. their confidence peaked, and the weasel elt their heart pounding, victory flooding through their veins.


___________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Blackberry
notes: here

Blackberry could feel eyes on her, as if someone was staring intently from the shadows. She looked around, trying to find the source, but there was nobody nearby. She narrowed her eyes angrily, trying to find the source of her discomfort, but she couldn't figure it out. So she brushed it off as nothing. Besides, even if something leaped out to attack her, she would defeat them, no, destroy them. She had Huckleberry beside her, anyways.

She looked back and snapped at Huckleberry to keep up. The young hybrid bowed his head, as if in shame, and continued to follow her, grumbling and mumbling all the way. Blackberry took no heed. She had learned to ignore the child's inane ramblings by now. They meant little to her.

@Pride @Envy

Pride went still and silent. There was not one, but two of them. He might be able to take them both, but the second--a stranger to him--looked far stronger than its deranged leader. Or was the creature Blackberry's bodyguard? --It mattered little.

He focused.

The roaring of his own blood filled his ears, his pulse pounding; the adrenaline poured through him. He concentrated deeply, and put all his focus on two objects: the small pebble in his mouth, and the white patch of fur at Blackberry's throat.

Magic, he had found, could be manipulated to do anything you wished. This spell had been long-planned, practiced over many hours in private. Bring me back what is mine... leave her nothing but the stone.

There was a soft clatter below as the stone fell at Blackberry's feet. With luck, she would merely think it overturned by her own passage, and never notice the fur missing--not until she took the necklace off.

With luck.

Pride glanced to Envy, hazed eyes blazing with triumph, the swatch of fur visible in his mouth. He slipped back into the darkness and tucked it into his cheek, murmuring softly.

"Just hide us now. It's done. ...King Envy."

@Envy

Envy waited, shivering slightly with the strain of the magic coursing through their body. They soon turned back to look at Pride, and on seeing that he held the fur, twitched in a surge of relief and joy. The stag's words sent them into an excited twitch, bouncing and hopping in victory, and for a moment it didn't even cross their mind to try and look regal. After a moment though, they froze, coughed softly, and bowed towards Pride.

Just before the magic slipped from their grasp, the weasel tried once again to harness it, although they were weakening, and it was becoming plain to see. The weasel had started to tremble, wavering as the nervous energy battled with exhaustion. Finally, they sank down onto all four paws, opening their mouth, and lolling out their tongue, magic once again flowed around them. Sluggishly, the weasel heaved themselves up one of Pride's forelegs and onto his back, sprawling across his shoulders into the fur.

"We've gotta go, Pride. I've gotta... y'know... absorb." The weasel didn't want to have to steal nourishment from Pride, and they knew that they couldn't keep two spells going at once.


___________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Blackberry
notes: here

If Huckleberry hadn't been there, perhaps the plan would have succeeded without a hitch. As it was, however, so nervous were they of where their mother was taking them, that every detail, from a growl from Blackberry's throat to a twitch of her claws were processed in great detail. They were shivering with anticipation.

So when Blackberry turned around, Huckleberry immediately noticed something missing. It wasn't hard to miss, after all - the necklace was up against the jet black of her neck and the fur was white. And it wasn't there anymore.

Whatever Blackberry had hissed to them was lost as they took in this detail. "Mama, your necklace...the fur..." It hit them in a second. They were under attack. Or, at least, someone had managed to steal from his mama. Their body went rigid as they raised their nose to the air. There was a faint scent on the wind. They moved their head around, trying to track the source of the smell and managed to pinpoint a general direction. For a moment, they thought they saw a flash of white fur and they jumped with excitement. "Mama! Mama! Over there! There's someone there!"

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags:
notes: here