Amazon was so overwhelmed by Envy's speech that she couldn't help it - she burst into tears. The idea that she could be strong, that she could work through her life, that she was now part of something bigger then herself, it was almost too much to bear. Everyone else, they would live. They would survive far beyond her. They took their lives for granted. But Amazon knew now the price she had to pay for her short life. Pain, misery, and an end that came nearer and nearer. She didn't know when, but she knew that it would happen. Could anybody else share in that misery?

No. But perhaps being here with all these strong creatures, with all of this strength to catch up to, perhaps she could forget about it for a while. Focus on something else. She had magic, she knew that. Perhaps she could get better at it. Like Envy and Reseda. And maybe Pride, who could create crowns with his hooves. She wanted to be as good as them.

She tried her best to stop her sobbing, knowing that she was probably embarrassing herself in front of all these strangers who would hopefully become friends and allies. She needed to show them that she could be just as good as them too. With a few deep breaths, she managed to stop, panting to hold back her tears, but she didn't trust herself to speak. She just looked up at Envy with glowing admiration.

@Reign

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

The King Cheetah's ears twitched, listening as the mutant weasel went on a tangent. They spoke of the circumstances behind their meeting of the ones who had harmed them, reacting to the large, oversized lizard's claims of stealing their enemy's gems.

And then the weasel mentioned the 'seven sins'. Somehow, he knew what those were. Pride. Lust. Greed. Wrath. Gluttony. Sloth. Envy. Which fit him? He was not envious, did not see the point. Did not act out sloth, was not lazy. He was not gluttonous, did not over-eat or waste. He was not prone to wrath, not one that was easy to anger. And he had never been greedy, never pre-disposed to it. The prince had never been lustful. So, pride? He was rather proud, and so he had to admit that, yes, he embodied pride.

But then, Envy announced where they would claim their throne. In Orion - a room he had heard of, but had never been to before. The little weasel seemed excited, doing a flip and then, suddenly, bursting into tears. The Cheetah twitched his ears, and asked, "King Envy?" uncertainly.

However, it began to shout once more. Was this weasel stable? Well, if not, then he would have to take care of the others under the weasel's protection. "I shall go with you, my King."

Soft sobs, however, drew his attention. The lizard he had been shielding was crying, panting beneath him. The Cheetah lowered his head to gently nudge her, asking, "Little one, art thou 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

@Amazon
@Envy

Lust watched the others gathered around but they were mostly interested in the weasel as they were at the center of everyone’s attention, both literally and metamorphically. Their small chest swelled in pride as he talked about how great they would become. How powerful and mighty they would be together under his rule.

Was that possible, though, in their case? Over the cycles the pigeon had grown and now stood quite elegantly other than the stubborn chest feathers that twisted the wrong way. Their plumage had fully come in as a soft creamy white and light brown. They were no longer the small sickly pink hatchling that they once were.

Yet Lust continued to see themselves as a young fledgling. Small and fragile compared to the might that both Reseda and Envy seemed to have. And Glory and Pride and even Kielo. They were all strong, confident, and wonderful beings. That was absolutely out of reach for the young pigeon. No, no, they were destined to simply watch and cheer on the others as they reached for glory.

Not that Lust could do anything but follow along with the group. After all, 3 of the ones they so greatly admired were part of the group. And others equally beautiful and strong beings had appeared as well. Lust turned from one to the other and to the new comers as well as they appeared. To bask in their combined glory was intoxicating.

“You … all of you. You’re all so powerful, so strong, so …. Right. I know you all can do wonderful things.” They spoke quietly, as though hesitant to draw additional attention to themselves. Especially after the incident with the voice from above. Heart was already pounding deep in their chest. But they puffed their chest out in hopes of appearing confident as well.


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

tags: @Envy I think you're next
notes:

original coding by wulf for template purposes

When Envy came to their senses, they rubbed their eyes with the backs of their paws, and came grinning out of the emotional wreck they had been moments ago. They didn’t know quite what had happened, but they knew that their magic had triggered it- a sudden overflow of jealousy and bitterness the likes of which they’d felt little like before. But now that the magic had subsided, it left mostly embarrassment in its wake. They felt something be placed atop their head then too, and looked up to see Pride raising his hoof away. Looking up, the weasel blinked still slightly-bleary, catlike eyes up at him, and felt their chest swelling nobly. They offered the stag a nod, then did the same to their mother and the cheetah, held themselves tall and raised their voice loud and clear. “Thank you, Pride.”

Yet more gems came, and it seemed that Reseda knew one of them- Gluttony. Envy couldn’t help but feel disrespected and found their gaze lingering on Reseda’s banana, their spines raising in a moment of disgust before they hastily looked away. ”Gluttony? Welcome.” the weasel said nobly. And they noticed a serpent, a copper-coloured snake in the back, simply watching. Envy offered them a kingly nod. ”And who might you be?”

Then the weasel heard Amazon’s tiny sobs, and peered over the edge down at her. Was it possible that their magic had affected more than just themselves? It was hard to believe, but possible. They hadn’t discovered anything new for a while. Curiosity prickled in their chest, but they didn’t want to try anything now. Not when they’d almost completely made a fool of themselves. They glanced at the cheetah, who’d also showed concern but who appeared to have switched his attention towards Amazon. They were momentarily torn on what to do, but then shook the hesitation away. Distraction would probably be best- and would help draw attention back to them. That’s right, Lust! And you’re gonna be a part of it!”

They leaped from their perch, scrambling up one of Pride’s snowy-white forelegs and clambering up onto his head. There they stood in between proud, towering antlers, head held high and crown glistening.

”To Orion!” King Envy shrilled, and the excitement in their voice was real. ”To claim my throne!”


When I speak.

When I think.



________________


@aaliyah @Pride @Gluttony @wrath @reign @lust @reseda

Pride turned, lifting his head nobly. He knew what his little King wanted: a parade, of sorts, the march of glory of which Envy had always dreamed, with the tiny monarch at the head. At his, head, in fact--rather literally.

He would give it to them.

He raised his head high, standing straight, and began to stride--slowly, at first--toward the tunnel that would lead them to Orion. His legs snapped high and set down delicately with each step, his neck proudly arched, his shining rack of silver-grey antlers lifted as a moving throne to frame Envy in their perch.

As he marched, he tried to summon a thin, low and sparkling cloud of mist to roll along behind his hooves, a display like smoke and fog, simply for dramatic effect. This was their king, and he would do all he could to show that.

However, his mind--the mind of an advisor--was always working. Already his pale eyes regarded the far end of Polaris with critical thought, and the magic fell away before doing much at all.

"Do you wish," he began, keeping his voice mild in tone, "to avoid these... Bloodberries, for now, my King..? Or shall we march directly through their hellish den? I daresay we are rather an army at the moment. We might have a chance to wipe them out, should they be foolish enough not to flee. Though I do not know if you'd rather not risk the younger," he added, always tactful. This was to provide Envy an easy way out if they did not yet feel ready to attack: a good, reasonable, even Kingly excuse not to barge in on their opponents.

@Aaliyah

Li looked around at all who surrounded Envy. All these gembounds a part of something the weasel had made. A group that he was king of. Her eyes flicked over towards the newcomers. Were they a part of the group too? Was everyone here part of it? She looked over at Reign. Was even the cheetah part of it? She shifted her paws, suddenly feeling very out of place among these gembounds that all seemed to know each other.

She watched as Envy scrambled onto Pride's head, among the antlers. She found herself longing for when they were on her head, but quickly shook the thought away. Envy was a king now, and it seemed the stag was closest to them. As they started walking, she hesitated. Should she follow? Did Envy still want her here? Or should she just...leave? She looked at the others, trying to calm the panic that was starting to race through her.

She slowly followed, walking along with unsure steps. But when she heard Pride speak, she couldn't stop herself from walking a bit faster to them, eyes wide. They wouldn't fight the bloodberries, would they? She didn't know anything about them, but she did know they were what caused Envy to retreat into their chrysalis. And she definitely didn't want Envy to confront them.

She opened her mouth to say something - but, it wasn't really her place, was it? Envy was the one in charge here, and if they wanted to go to wherever the bloodberries were...well, could she really stop them? She backed off a little, though worry and concern were still very clear on her face.

"Li Speech."

@Wrath

( frick, missed the ping from Envy! Sorry about the late response!)

Wrath turned her head, smelling the air near where the poisonscent was. "I am Wrath." she stated, quietly glad that she had caught the poisonscent's attention.

She followed the procession, listening in on a conversation that caught her ear. It sounded as if it was between the poisonscent and another, larger scent, one too large to be preyscent but not quite the right smell to be predatorscent. They were talking about "bloodberries", and the potential for war with them. She grew excited. She had never fought a Gembound before, and the mere thought of it sent an excited shiver up her spine.

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

Gluttony nodded in appreciation to Reseda, then quickly gobbled down the banana. He licked his lips hungrily, wishing he knew how to make them himself. He nodded to Envy.

”Thank you for the warm welcom, King Envy. I see great things for you.“


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

Reseda didn't listen or join in with the other gembounds' words. They didn't mean anything to her right now. She kept her eyes focused on Envy and Pride. They had somehow garnered the respect of all of the gembounds present despite only knowing them for a little while. Meanwhile, both of them were horribly suspicious of her, despite her 'friendship' with Lust and Gluttony. Perhaps it was unfortunate that those were the only two that really trusted her - Lust was foolish enough to trust everyone and she had a feeling Envy wouldn't take to Gluttony very easily, considering that they, in fact, couldn't eat. Unfortunate indeed.

She glanced towards the tiny lizard. Perhaps she should have made more of an effort to befriend the young thing - she seemed to know Envy well. And perhaps the cheetah as well - they were a newcomer and hadn't yet been tested. A good opportunity to try and gain their trust. She would not screw it up the way she had with Pride.

She lifted her head to the ceiling as Envy announced that they would fly to Orion. She would announce the long-awaited birth of the Sinful Seven to all the caves to see. With a burst of magic, she sent a green wave of radioactive magic into the sky. She felt her body shiver in protest, however, as far too much came forward. She felt it spread through her own body, infecting her nerves with a horrible poisoning she had grown all too familiar with. She tried to suppress a shiver - it would leave a bad impression to see her fail so horribly. She stayed perfectly still and tried to respond to Pride's question. But as she opened her mouth, she felt a wave of nausea pass through her and she clamped it shut, squeezing her stomach to keep her last meal from coming back up. This was unfortunate.

Amazon felt something soft touch her spiky scales and she turned her head back to see the cheetah's head right in front of her. She stopped herself from squeaking with surprise and turned to face him, still trying to stop her sobs. How embarrassing. "Oh, I'm fine. It's just...um..." She didn't really know how to say it, considering that only Envy and Khloros knew about how her gem affected her. She couldn't just go up to stranger's and tell them "hi, I'm Amazon and my gem is going to kill me!" No, that'd be ridiculous. But this cat wasn't a stranger, or at least they weren't supposed to be. They were part of the same kingdom now. She could trust him, right?

She decided on a median between her two conflicting thoughts. "There's just a problem with me that Envy understands. And to here them talking like that, like I can be strong too, well, it's really moving to think about." she sniffled again and turned back to her friend who was announcing that they would be going for Orion. She widened her eyes with surprise and turned to Greed. But it was at that moment that she sent off the wave of magic and Amazon's eyes widened with horror. The green was far too familiar and the sudden feeling she got, the atmosphere around the lizard darkening, it was too familiar.

She tried to hold it in, she really did, but the magic seemed to almost trigger her sickness. The edges of her vision started to darken and her stomach writhed. She pushed her way through the edge of the circle and threw herself behind a rock where she promptly lost her lunch.

She held herself from being too loud - she knew that Envy didn't like it. But she couldn't help it. How would she get to Orion now? There was no way she was going anywhere near Greed again, at least until the radioactivity was gone. She crawled out from behind the rock and back to where the cheetah was, but making sure to stand on the other side of them from where Greed was standing. "Um, sorry...I hate to ask, but could you maybe carry me to Orion? I can't make it that far..." She decided not to mention Greed, hoping that the cheetah wouldn't bring it up.

@Reign