Pride made his way slowly to the Throne, looking rather... odder than usual. He was, currently, something of a transportation device rather than a Gembound.

In his gut, he carried the parasite Squick. On his back, he wore a piece of diamond armor, with holes at the sides where it hung down his flanks--it looked something like a jagged saddle with crystal outgrowths. Atop this sat a white arctic hare, her left eye ringed by blue-green gemstone and both eyes wide open as she took in Orion's sights. And atop his antlers--presuming she hadn't moved from her spot--was the crow Nisha, riding him to the King.

"Envy? King Envy?" he called out--correcting himself so as to set an example for the young one. "I've brought a--friend." Then, more quietly, he spoke to the crow.

"This is the place. We did not build this throne--it has been here since before I hatched, and I do not know how much longer, before. But our group calls itself the "sinful seven," and lives here. Though I think we're not precisely seven," he added.

He still wasn't quite sure what that name was all about.

@Nisha @Envy

Envy was already on the throne by the time that Pride arrived. It looked as though they were just relaxing, lazing on their side. And as one drew near, the reasoning for that was clear; beside the throne, lay a small, pale green mass, curled up into a little ball of velvety newborn fuzz and chubby baby fat. This mass was, quite clearly, unconscious; and judging by the also-exhausted stance of the parent and their noticeably emaciated frame, they were part of the cause.

Having never eaten themselves, Charity's voracious appetite presented a whole new challenge to the weasel, and it was getting difficult for them to deal with. Luckily, though, they had a spell to cover that. Charity had played until she tired, cried for food, eaten herself silly, and then simply passed out next to the throne, glittering. Envy swore that her weight must have tripled in the short days since her hatching.

At the sound of approaching hoofbeats, Envy shot upright, perching on the edge of the throne and peering out to see Pride arriving. Had he come to give them a break? For once Envy's jealousy was put on the backburner. Parenting was hard. They hadn't been prepared for this. "Yes, Pride?"

At the mention of bringing a friend, though, Envy's hopes were quickly dashed. They swept their paws quickly over their whiskers, straightened their wayward crown, perked their spines and stood tall. Noticing the other creatures riding on Pride- which was usually their spot- they sucked in their breath, and focused on bringing out their wings. In little more than a moment, the ethereal appendages arched red from their shoulders, and tiny devil horns appeared atop their head. They fluttered over to Pride and perched between his antlers, standing tall and proud. After a moment, they paused to cast a studious eye over Pride's back and find this 'friend'. At 7 inches tall, they weren't very big- but they were a king!

"...Welcome to my Kingdom!" they twittered after a moment. Then, as though reciting a line from a book, continued; " The Sinful Seven! Here we take our flaws... our... 'sins'... and turn them into our strengths!"

But the white rabbit seemed, if Envy were honest, a little bit stupid.

Speech. Thought.

@Nisha

NOTES

---

Nisha had, by her own admittance, fallen asleep on the antlers of Pride. She was woken almost abruptly when the repetitive sounds from Pride's feet stopped and he called out a name to the darkness.

The small fluffy raven babe slowly opened one apricot eye then the other. A small green long noodle thing sat on a big chair and a smaller creature lay next to it. Nisha found the small thing interesting, as it seemed very much so asleep like Nisha had recently been.

It was only when the green noodle thing flew over to Pride and perched on the antlers next to the hatchling. The creature seemed to be very self righteous and sure of itself, not that Nisha found anything wrong with that. But she thought it amusing when it began to talk to the fluffy white animal on Pride's back.

After "Envy" spoke Nisha let out a cackle from her beak. "I don't think it knows what your saying." Nisha's apricot eyes pinning in amusement.

Again Nisha's thoughts were brought back to the creature that seemed to be asleep. Spreading her little wings Nisha flapped them intently and lept from Pride. Suspended in air for a moment Nisha floated down and landed on the throne. Hopping closer she inspected the sleeping creature curious of it's nature.

"She Mocks" | She Thinks | She Flies

Pride
Envy

As though sensing that she was being watched, the baby comfortably curled up beside the Throne raised her head, her eyes flickering open to slits, and ears twisting back as she shook her head. With grogginess clinging to her motions, she looked around- then, with tiny legs momentarily flailing, got to her feet. She blew out a small snort of surprise and skittered back from the other young gembound that had so suddenly appeared there, her tail twitching.

Purple, catlike eyes wide, she stared at the little bird, heedless of any impoliteness, small paws squared apart and tail twitching. And then she looked up, towards the Throne.

"Mamma!" she yelled, nervously. "Mamma?"

She backed away a little more from the bird and set her plump hindquarters down on the ground. The bitter aftertaste that followed being woken up sat firmly in her mouth, but she tried to look big and strong in front of the bird by puffing out her chest, showing off the golden necklace that Envy had given her. "Who are you?"

@Pride

Pride started to speak, but then the raven was off, and he lowered his voice some. He sounded gently amused.

"I found her in Polaris, newly-hatched. I thought perhaps Charity could use a friend, or at least--it is good to meet other children; and I did not wish to leave this one alone, so new. How are you?" Then, a little more loudly, he called out. "It's all right--I brought her to meet you. Hello, Charity."

Again, he lowered his voice. "How've you been holding up? It's been hard enough with both myself and Mercy looking after the two. We really ought to... combine forces. Take turns babysitting or the like. Though you seem to be holding up well?"

A sidelong glance at Envy, appraising, told him little. The weasel always held their cards close to their chest, and now was no exception; there was no way they'd let their guard down around company, either, even one so young as Nisha.

@Envy

Envy turned suddenly, as a young voice reached their ears, and they flinched, jumping back, quills rattling with embarrassment. "I knew that!" they piped indignantly, as they tried their best to flatten their spines. "...But obviously the rabbit is a friend. Otherwise Pride wouldn't have brought it! So technically I was right."

The weasel relaxed as the little bird fluttered off- but suddenly panicked as she made straight for Charity. "W-wait! I've just managed to-" they tried to stop the bird, but were cut off by their daughter's panicked cries. The weasel froze in a moment of panic. They leaped off of Pride's head without thinking and, using magic to summon their wings, caught themselves mid leap. With surprising grace their wings burst into existence, catching them midair, and like a dragon they circled once, and landed between the two newborns.

Envy fussed over Charity for a moment, making sure that she was no longer afraid, but never pushing away the bird. They looked up at Pride after a few moments as he explained his reasoning, and their eyes widened for a moment. "A... a friend?" they asked, as though the idea was strange to them. They drew back, settling next to the hybrid, examining the bird with a tilt of their head. Then they looked back up at Pride. Did that mean the bird would become a part of their kingdom? They relaxed, noticeably, at that thought, gaze fleetingly passing to Charity, and then Pride.

"I... I suppose it couldn't hurt... So long as she lets Charity get some sleep."

They looked, pointedly, at the bird. Finally, they looked back at Pride, hanging close over their daughter, seemingly at loathe to leave her. But then a moment later, they perked up. "Charity, come!" they twittered, and bounded back over to the deer. Slowing down as they drew near, they looked up curiously at the new tone of Pride's voice. They glanced back at Charity and the bird. Then they lowered their own voice.

"I'm doing fine," they said simply.

Speech. Thought.

@Nisha

NOTES

---

The small creature looked like the other one named Envy. Nisha wondered if they were related in anyway. The small bird was then startled when that very creature shot up and began to cry out. It was only a moment before Envy had appeared next to the mewling babe.

"M-Me? I'm Nisha... Who are you?" The young bird cocked her head and gazed over at the creature with apricot eyes.

Nisha then noticed that the girl had antlers like Pride. Turning her head back and Pride she quipped a small chirp at her friend and pinned her eyes again. She liked this new "friend' Charity, hopping closer to Pride by a step or two she gazed up.

"C-can I stay here? I l-like it here!" The raven hatchling chirped happily.

"She Mocks" | She Thinks | She Flies

@Charity

Charity paused, her ears twitching back for a moment, a look of surprise crossing her face. Clearly, she hadn't expected to get this far. "I'm Charity," she introduced, with a swing of her head that jingled the chain around her neck. Although she was bare of antlers yet, the motion was almost deer-like, like the pretense of a stag with a full rack.

She looked up as Envy appeared, and visibly relaxed as they stood by her. She listened to the conversation passing between the two adults, and as she did so finally appeared to notice Pride's appearance. She perked visibly, standing up straight, and bounded over in a bouncing waddle. "Pride!" she bleated. She hadn't seen him much, only in the moments following her birth. She hadn't wondered what had happened to the stag, but now she did. The child went to cling to one of his forelegs with small paws. She tried to copy her other parent, and shimmy her way up his leg- but her body was plump with baby fat, with none of the lightness of her weasel parent, and she stayed rooted, quite firmly to the ground. "Where have you been?"

@Pride

Pride gave Envy a small nod.

"That's good, I'm finding it all rather exhausting--but rewarding." At Nisha's called out question, he glanced over, then looked to Envy once more. "Well, how long you can stay is up to Envy, as the King would need to look after you; if they're too tired you can come back with me, and we can simply visit here."

He shifted in place as Charity came over, taking a couple steps to meet her. His head dropped down, and he sniffed her over. There was no odd odor on her, no weakness or blood or the like, and he gave her a little nuzzle before lowering himself down to the rock. "Well, I was going on adventures," he told her, good-naturedly. "Getting ready to form up some armor, in case I ever need to defend Orion. Which reminds me; have you ever heard the story of the talking diamond?"

He hadn't, of course, but he was perfectly willing to make it up then and there. Perhaps the raven would enjoy a story--and Envy a break. If not, he was also content to do whatever they wished; he was in a good enough mood, and hopefully, the others would get along just as well as he did.

He hoped he wasn't disrupting too much by bringing Nisha here--and a worried glance to Envy betrayed that thought, though likely to the weasel alone--and only if they were paying attention.

@Envy

Envy's quills twitched. Exhausting, huh? At least they weren't the only one. The weasel felt a brief pang of satisfaction. They watched as Charity waddled over, and clung to the deer's foreleg, gaze lingering for perhaps a moment longer than normal. The little one's show of affection wasn't something she'd shown Envy before; perhaps because they were always just there. But the side of their lip twitched- but they found their attention drawn back to the little bird as she asked to stay.

Immediately their jealousy was overshadowed by glee at the thought of having another subject in their kingdom. It had been far too long since they'd seen little Sirius, and there hadn't been any other newcomers to the kingdom for quite some time. It would be exciting to finally increase their numbers, and refreshing to see a new face around here.

"wh-what? Of course you can stay! No need to visit."

They turned to glance up at Pride.

Speech. Thought.

@Nisha