Reseda listened halfheartedly to the others crying out for Envy, so worried for their safety and asking if they were okay. Were they blind? Did they not see the mutation they had undergone? Obviously they were okay. If they had been in their chrysalis, that meant they were recovering. They were all idiots and Reseda wondered if she would be able to stand their company.

But she told herself that she had been the one to gather them, after all. Well, besides the two cats. And the tiny lizard, in a way. She didn't know if they were intent on joining their group or not. She didn't mind - having someone heavily rely on them could be good in the long run.

Reseda knew that Envy had been attacked by a vicious goose and Reseda knew that it was, in fact, the one that she knew as well. But she did notice Pride's use of the word 'they' and Reseda knew what that meant - the gems she had tried to steal all that time ago had hatched and the goose's family was grown and fighting. "So, there is more than just the goose and the moose. I once stole three gems from them, their children I presume, but I failed to keep them for very long. Perhaps I should have broken them." She tapped her claw on the ground irritably, but she really felt no sense of anger. It was simply her acknowledging that she had messed up. There was no sense being angry about the past now.

"We should be ready for them. With the strength of us, the Sins, we will defeat them." As Envy commanded, Reseda crouched to the ground and bowed her head, her unblinking eyes looking up at the leader. She was not particularly inclined to this behavior, but she had to keep up appearances. She was one of them now, whether she liked it or not.

Amazon was beginning to become overwhelmed by the number of gembounds - very large gembounds - that were gathering around. She widened her eyes and backed away, only to find more in their place. A ring around Envy and Amazon found herself near the center.

As Envy's pillar of quartz began to rise, Amazon tried to squeeze herself into the shadows, but it wasn't very effective. She was small, yes, but not invisible. She didn't trust Reseda enough to give her shelter and now Envy was out of their reach. She couldn't just climb up there and stand with them so that she could feel better. She just had to be brave.

Trying to control her heartbeat and breathing, she stepped out and turned, facing Envy and hating her instincts for screaming at her to not expose her back. She stood by the pigeon, who, to her, seemed like the most non threatening one of the bunch. She had mostly missed a lot of their conversation about the goose, but she did catch that something had attacked Envy, something had ripped them apart and she shivered. She wasn't a fighter.

She wished that she was, though. Envy was so strong and she felt the magic coming from Reseda as she had lumbered through the caves. She wanted to get stronger, just like them, but how could she, when she was so tiny and pitiful?

But Envy's words of strength, of becoming part of the most powerful army, it certainly had an effect on Amazon. She suddenly felt like she would be able to do it, that she could become as strong as the others. So she stepped forward and immediately bowed her head in submission. "You helped me, Envy - I mean, King Envy - so I'll follow you."

@Reign

From the day we arrive on the planetAnd blinking, step into the sun

Reign was so confused.

He had merely been looking for the little Weasel. And he had found it. But now he found himself surrounded by Gembounds, all of which were... pledging allegiance to it? What?

But, it seemed, they wanted to protect the caves, and he could get behind that. If whoever had attacked this King Envy planned on harming the caves, then he could not stand idly by.

A small lizard looked rather frightened, and so he shifted, standing over them. Not all the way, but enough to shield them and attempt to give them comfort. Only then did he say, looking up at the mutated Gembound, "I shall follow you, as well."

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

There's more to see than can ever be seenMore to do than can ever be done

Lust stepped back a bit, following each of the speakers in turn as they proclaimed their allegiance to the weasel. On the one wing, they were so proud of their king. The number of followers appear to have grown and with such strong and mighty ones at that! On the other wing, Lust knew that they could not compare to the others. They were but a lowly squire, a nothing compared to the might creatures that had gathered in Envy’s name. The pigeon couldn’t help the mixture of both excitement and resentment that formed in a tangled mess in their heart.

This was put aside as talk of the goose and their kin flowed around the circle. The bird narrowed their eyes in fury. How dare they hurt their king? This could not stand. No, this would not stand. “That creature will pay,” they said in a low deep voice filled with seething anger. “No one is allowed to hurt my king. Not an evil goose, not a rock monster, no one.”

Magic gathered deep in the pigeon’s gizzard, swirling unnoticed and uncontrolled. It spun, tangled, formed until it erupted with a burning heat to the raspberyl stone on their cheek. Suddenly Lust found their voice bouncing from above them. “No one is allowed to hurt my king!,” it repeated.

Immediately Lust’s anger was gone, instantly replaced by horror. They hadn’t used that ability since they first discovered it a cycle or so ago. And they most certainly didn’t mean to use it then! But what was done was done. As the bird’s check feathers flushed a bright pink, the pigeon decided to awkwardly roll with it. “Long live the king!” The formles voice followed after.


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

tags: @Envy
notes:

original coding by wulf for template purposes

Envy watched Pride expectantly as the stag began to form a gem around his hoof, and felt a pang of bitterness for a moment until they realized what he was doing, when the feeling began to be replaced by a trickle of pride. They couldn't resist watching as the gem grew, eyes brightening. But they also couldn't help the look of dismay that crossed their face as Pride failed to remove it from his hoof. They looked up towards his face as though concerned it was a joke.

Envy barely had the time to respond before they felt a rough tongue combing them, cleaning off the murk of red-tinted fluid and revealing a lush forest-green colour beneath. Although at first they squirmed in embarrassment, the nostalgia of their very first days alive was enough to stop them in their tracks. And, having others do things for you- wasn't that part of being a king? So they let their mother lick them clean, until they stood, greener than they'd ever been before and new spines cocked proudly. The array of spikes twitched as Li spoke to them again, stuttering with nervous. They turned towards her, fixing the cat with a catlike gaze of their own. They paused for a moment, spikes rippling as they considered their response- how to make them sound strong, because Envy knew that if they'd been alone, they would have won. "I was helping Pride. My magic worked flawlessly, but they wouldn't play fair. There were five of them. A goose, a moose, a wolf... and a bunch of the same, but all mashed together."

Envy fixed their gaze on Reseda next, a soft rattle emerging from their quills. They couldn't help feeling a thrill of shock, but they kept themselves calm except for the twitching of their spiked tail- which felt too heavy for their liking. "You stole them? Don't you think they'll... have it out for us now? Not that they can beat us, but..." They found a rythmn, of tapping the tip of their bony tail on the surface of the rock behind them. It drove easily into moss and soil.

There it was again. Reseda's talk of 'Sins'. And it got Envy thinking back to what Pride had said, about the seven. Reseda called herself Greed, if they remembered correctly. Their eyes flicked over each of the assembled, gaze alighting for a while longer on Lust. Envy combed their claws through their chest, deep in thought. "Seven sins..." they muttered thoughtfully.

Pride, Lust, Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth... and me. Sins, huh? Pretty ridiculous. Those don't sound so bad.

As a concept it worked, but they didn't yet have a Wrath, a Sloth, or a Gluttony. Envy wondered for a split second whether they'd really want a gluttony. The thought of seeing someone eating made them want to throw up again. But they chided themselves- they wanted more subjects more than anything else. The allegiance of those around them came with a rush of feeling, a thrill of excitement and a feeling of security unmatched. They were truly a king.

They'd talk to Reseda later about Gluttony, Sloth and Wrath.

They realized they'd been staring for a while at the pigeon, and hastily tore their gaze away. They felt a surge of satisfaction and power through their bones as they watched each creature bow in turn. For a moment they were glad that Aaliyah was here to see this; and their heart ached to hear what she thought, how proud she'd be. They looked her way, offering a grin- a more genuine grin than they'd ever wore before, before turning again to their subjects. "Follow me to Orion. That's where I'll claim my throne! Under my rule, you'll become a part the Sinful Seven! We'll know our flaws, but we'll make them our strengths!"

Lust's voice brought a new kind of excitement flooding from their heart to the tips of their paws and tail. They couldn't resist a tiny flip, bouncing up and down on their pedestal and flexing their spines excitedly. In this moment of wonder and excitement, Envy felt magic flooding them, a new kind of magic. It was something they'd never felt before, but they let it flow.

And in that moment Envy found themselves thinking back to everyone they'd met, everyone who'd jeered and laughed, everyone who'd been so much stronger. Imperia, that alligator, that stupid wolf- faces flashed through their mind and each brought with it a stab of pain. Each and every one of them so much bigger, so much stronger- every one of their faces filled with so much disdain. Even if they'd only met for a moment, they were there. Envy's spines rattled, and the weasel bent over on their pedestal, covering their eyes and folding back their ears as they tried desperately to hide the tears that were suddenly brewing in their eyes. It was almost- almost- as though they'd been overcome by a fit of passion. After all, they'd worked towards this for so long. Envy's sides quaked, and when they finally looked up, the fur around their eyes was discernibly damp.

They sniffled, struggling to gain control again. They squared their hind paws firmly apart and in an effort to appear in control, raised their voice in a high-pitched yell with a voice that was ragged with pent-up sobs. "WE'LL BE STRONGER THAN ANYONE!"


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Pride
notes: here

Pride was still trying to shake the gem loose, onto Envy's head, when they apparently lost their damn mind.

He paused, hoof dangling midair, staring as Envy broke into ragged sobs. What is this all about, then? Has their rebirth damaged their mind..?

Concerned, Pride hurriedly sent a surge of magicka into the gem he'd formed, trying at last to simply grow it free. It didn't drop, so with a grunt, he shook his leg more strongly--and with a pop the little crown went flying, clattering over the stone. He glanced after it and with a couple of swift stag's bounds he was on it, like a dog chasing a bone, picking it up in his teeth and trotting back.

With a brief, worried glance at the weasel--would they just... attack him, possibly?--he delicately leaned in to finally place the crown upon Envy's head.

"I... will go to Orion with you, yes," he agreed in his fluting voice, bewildered at the display.

@Aaliyah

It was strange, seeing all these gembounds bow to Envy. Still, it sent a burst of pride through Li - Envy had gotten so far. They'd made so many friends and...they're king now. King of this group. She smiled slightly.

That smile was soon wiped away as she heard of what happened. Five? A goose and a moose? And...hybrids? That sent a bolt of fear through her again. So there seemed to be gembounds going around and attacking others. Probably killing them. It didnt seem like Imperia had found them, for if they had, surely they'd join. Would they? Or would they try and fight? She realized she had no idea. She hadn't seen Imperia in such a long time - aside from their little reunion some cycles ago.

She was lost in thought for a moment until she noticed Envy starting to shiver, and she looked toward them in concern, nudging them slightly. "Envy...?" She looked up at the stag as he placed the crown on the weasel's head before looking back at Envy. She wondered what had overcome them, and if there was anything she could do.

Though with a glance at all the others, she wondered if they'd want her to do anything. Was she supposed to give them some space? Were they...embarrassed of her? The thoughts were enough to cause her to back up a little, eyes darting around, though she was clearly still greatly concerned.

"Li Speech."

@Reseda

Wrath was... confused, to say the least. She had been exploring the caves for quite quite a bit since she had woken up, traveling with a maned wolf who called herself Fate. Eventually, however, the two had gone on their seperate paths, leaving Wrath alone in Polaris.

Her attention had been attracted by the sounds of many, many other Gembounds- almost deafening to one who had been in the company of just Fate for all this time. She felt the vibrations of many different sizes of animals through the ground, piquing her curiosity. She slithered closer.

She picked out a specific scent from the crowd, which was a preyscent tinged with the faint scent of acrid poison. The preyscent was speaking of being a King to those in the crowd- speaking of grandeur and power, and more importantly, leading a following to Orion. A thrill went up her spine. This preyscent was certainly attracting a lot of attention- it was certain that something exciting was going to happen around the toxic preyscent. Wrath slithered closer to the crowd, lurking in the back. No use missing out on the action, right?

GLUTTONY
I'M NOT A GLUTTON, I'M AN EXPLORER OF FOOD

Gluttony had not seen Reseda in a few cycles, not any other sins. The gathering of Gembounds intrigued him, maybe they had found something tasty. He approached them cautiously, spotting the familiar Komodo among them. He sidled up beside her, listening quietly.

It had seemed to be the formation of a group, the Sinful Seven. Lust, Wrath, Envy, who seemed to be the weasel, Pride, Sloth, Greed... and Gluttony.

The goat thought for a moment. He was a glutton, it was his namesake. He loved food. He belonged with them, it was so obvious it was almost painful. Glutton stepped forward, speaking quietly. ”I will join you, King Envy. I am Gluttony, pleasure to be of service.“ He paused for a moment, his insatiable belly rumbling, ”Is thereany food around?“


”I'm hungry!“
Feed me please.
Tags: @Envy
Notes: here

Reseda stood as Envy began to speak again, a glimmer appearing in her eyes as her greed once again sparked. A deep, yearning desire to take everything by force. Become the master of the caves, the strongest, the greatest. She wanted everything and everything was what she would get. It didn't matter what it was. Even the crown that Pride placed upon Envy's head. She wanted it, desperately.

But she had to be patient. She had to control herself. And if there was anything that Reseda had learned in her many cycles, it was patience. Haste had almost ruined her chance with Pride. It had almost destroyed her many times. But her patience was paying off already. With Envy leading the Sinful Seven, she had a start.

And as Envy's magic flowed, there was something else she wanted. Something hidden deep within her that she had never thought of before - well, not consciously. As she looked around at everyone, at Envy, welling up with tears, at the concern on the strange cat's face, the hope on the tiny lizards...she wanted that too. She wanted to feel the way they felt. The emptiness within her suddenly felt as wide as Polaris and it seemed, just for a moment, an impossible feat to fill it. But she wanted to. She wanted everything, yes. But her deepest desire was something that she had always thought was everyone else's greatest weakness - emotion.

We'll know our flaws, but we'll make them our strengths... Perhaps that was her flaw. She had always thought of her lack of feeling as a strength. But now that this strange magic was washing over her, she realized that it was, perhaps, her greatest weakness. She did not truly understand everyone else because she could not feel the way they did. She would never lead a normal life like they did because she could never be the same. And, if Reseda was capable of emotion, this thought would have made her despair.

But then the moment ended as two newcomers joined the circle. A strange looking snake and a familiar face - none other than Gluttony himself. Had fate led him here or had he been aware of the meeting? And perhaps the snake was one they were missing as well - Wrath or Sloth.

As the goat strolled up beside her, she turned and gave him a small nod. "Welcome, Gluttony. I haven't seen you in some time. I assume that you are hungry..." She lifted one of her hefty claws forward and summoned a banana from the ground - a small one, but it was something. It was a spell rarely used, after all, as she had no interest in eating bananas herself.