Envy lowered their ears back against their head as they listened to the hybrid's wailings, struggling to stop themselves from wincing. They were loud, but even Envy knew that they should take careful note of its words. There was a lot there to unpack. They were sure that Pride would appreciate that. "It sounds like you're better off staying away for now," the weasel said, although inside they fretted over what to say, panic shooting up and down their body, and showing in a quiet rattle of their spines. "Huckleberry came to one of our meetings not long ago. He is..." They paused, tail twitching. "...Well-acquainted with our ranks. I'm sure if you wanted, Pride would be able to find him for you."

They looked towards Reseda, as she offered the hybrid the chance to stay in the tower. Their spines prickled as she made the same offer that Pride had suggested. "Yes, yes! the tower. Until we know you'll be fine, that would be a good..." what had Pride said?

The weasel didn't get the chance to think on it, though, as the dragon started to scream. Envy's entire body bristled, every inch of fur and spikes sticking out. They shook their head, the bellowing voice echoing in their ears and cutting right to their very core. They shivered, sweeping their paws over their head. Even when it was over, Envy found it hard to release the tension, jolting even at their own kingdom's voices.

In the moment of calm, Envy pressed their paws to the floor and felt magic crackling throughout their quills and sizzling through their fur. From the earth emerged a glittering jewel of gold- and it took form to be only slightly smaller than they were. Envy stepped back from the jewel and looked up at Dread, hoping that the offer would be enough to calm him down. "if I give you this, will you keep your voice down?" they said, as evenly as they could, although with an edge of exasperation to their tone.

Soon, they turned back towards Baneberry.

"As I was saying," Envy stiffly went back to their point. "When we know that you aren't carrying this disease, as well, you're welcome to stay here with us, for the time being. If need be we can hide you away from your mother, until we decide on the best course of action." They glanced up at Pride, looking for his approval in the matter. Pride liked that approach, right?

Speech. Thought.

@Baneberry

The hybrid thought about the options she had been given. Either stay here, and let them protect her from momma, or go to mama, maybe even fight her, and then lead an attack on these Gembounds. No, she had to stay here, she couldn't betray Huckle's friends. That was wrong. Making up her mind and ignoring the beast's roars of anger, she looked to Pride.

"I will stay here in your tower. But I want my father's remains, or what's left of them. He was all I had left, other than Huckleberry. I'm sure mama wants me back with the family, or dead for being gone so long." She mumbled the last part, letting it drift off into an uncomfortable silence.

@Greed

The coldness in Pride's voice was satisfying to the lizard and she turned away back towards Baneberry without another word. She shook her head, a little impatiently, and stepped in front of what was left of the moose. "No, haven't you been listening? The disease might still be on him. We have to destroy what's left."

She had no sympathy for the hybrd - how could she have sympathy? She did not understand her grief and she didn't understand the importance of having the remains of a parent. She didn't care. But the berries couldn't have what was left of the moose. She needed the gem, after all.

@Dread

Dread listened closely, still aggravated, smoke still threading from his nostrils in twin strands. At Envy's offer he shut up at once, snatching the gold in his jaws and maneuvering it to join the crystal in his talons. It seemed a suitable enough gift, and his greed half-distracted him from the talking. When Reseda spoke he listened, and though he couldn't really grasp the finer details of the ongoing conversation, he seemed to understand, at least, that he'd not destroyed the carcass quite thoroughly enough.

His jaws snapped open as he turned toward it once more, another billowing torrent of flame engulfing the moose's body. When he was done he stopped, eyeing it over with first one eye, then the other, birdlike.

He wasn't too sure about this whole "disease" thing--he thought that perhaps someone had not bothered to tell him, and he might get sick again. His memory of illness after having eaten the sick bat made him shudder. The horrible fever, the soreness, the weakness--

"I don't want to be sick again!" he cried, and though it was a roar, it was somehow rather piteous.

Pride's mind raced.

One part of it was considering Baneberry--they had to move her; they had to find a medic to keep up the pretext of checking for disease, both on them, and on her. The other half of his mind was contemplating Reseda. She was as good as an enemy, if she was reading his mind and taking his ideas without him even noticing. And he suspected that she was; it was just too convenient to not be the case. She was possibly making a move on the throne, and her greed had always been an issue.

She was getting rid of Bloodberries, though, which was more than he could say for Envy. Maybe they could find a way to get rid of two birds with one stone, or at least one bird; perhaps send Reseda out for round two, and hope that either Reseda or Blackberry died. Maybe if they promised some sort of grander reward for a repeat performance..? He struggled to think of a way this could be implemented without seeming suspicious, or asking too much. Perhaps flattery--something along the lines of, "you're obviously our only defense, if you do this"--... whatever they thought of, "we will reward you greatly." But what could they even reward her with? A title? Food? She wanted one thing--power over everyone--and they knew it.

That's it. Maybe if we can convince her to kill them, we can tell her she can control that section of the caves in the name of the Seven, and she can be third ranking or some such. We can offer her soldiers, under her command. It'd give us more presence, and give her some actual power, while strengthening us as a whole. Something to think on. He almost absently cast his mind out, trying to link briefly to Reseda's to ensure he heard no echo of his own thoughts in her mind. He then closed off the link, and moved toward Envy and Reseda both, for a moment. He spoke softly, hopefully so that Baneberry would not hear, but loud enough for the others--except, perhaps, the dragon.

"Just a thought, my King, but perhaps if Reseda--ahh, Greed--can manage to destroy the Bloodberries' presence in that tunnel, she could be made the General of that region of the caves. The tunnel, Polaris and the like, in the name of the Seven. She could perhaps utilize our resources there, take a few of us to command and what have you--it would keep all of us much more safe. It may be time to think of an assault on them properly. But we can discuss it further later, perhaps?" He glanced questioningly to Envy, then gave Reseda a nod before turning back to Baneberry.

"We can go to the tower now, if you wish. We will need to find a medic to check you--and all of us--over; I am certain that of whatever is left, if anything is safe perhaps we can find a... memento for you to keep, once it is cleared of illness."

His voice was kind, soothing, and apologetic. He truly did feel bad for these victims of the Bloodberry madness--this one and Huckleberry, at least. They were hardly more than children, and certainly deserved a better life.

@Reign @Envy

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

As far as Reign could tell, he hadn't much of a dog in this fight. So, for now, he watched. If King Envy or Pride tagged him in, then he would speak. But he had come in late, and didn't know the whole story, and didn't intend on compromising things.

Thankfully, it seemed, that King Envy had figured out what would soothe the raging Dragon, as a shining jewel was formed, quieting the beast.

But he couldn't help but to feel pity for the hybrid - she was young, it seemed, and sad for her father. He had not known his parents, if he had any, but could tell just by watching Baneberry that the parental bond was a tight one. One that he envied - he did not have such a bond with anyone. His ears flattened, for a moment, as Dread burned the moose's corpse, fearing how the hybrid would react.

He looked, then, to Pride, as the stag spoke, thinking things over. It sounded like a good idea - if Greed had backup, at the least. She was strong, but not strong enough to take the whole of them down. But that was something to be discussed later, so he inclined his head, and looked back at the hybrid.

@Envy

"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

Envy's quills trembled as the hybrid agreed to stay, their body relaxing slightly, and tail twitching with relief. But it wasn't all good; she was still one of the enemies, and she could still end up being a danger to them. They felt themselves twitching with nerves even though her attitude was surprisingly agreeable, suspicion prickling at the sharp quills along their spine.

The weasel shot Reseda a glare as she spoke to the hybrid- warning her to be careful. Facing against one of their sworn enemies, it wouldn't be wise to upset her. They felt straight away that Reseda's coldness would cause problems. What they needed now was to set her up with a fake sense of security.

They leaned up towards Pride as he spoke to them, and listened.

Their whiskers twitched at the thought of giving Reseda any sort of power over Polaris- but, as a general, she would still be outranked by them. The weasel gave a small nod; they supposed anything would be good to keep her on their side. Still, thoughts of an all-out assault set their quills trembling with nerves. And they didn't want to see their subjects commanded by someone else. "Perhaps, perhaps... But we need to set down some rules. No bringing the bodies back here, for example..." they muttered, shooting a long glance sideways at the komodo dragon. And we need to make sure Reseda doesn't turn her attentions on me. What if she steals half of my kingdom? Suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea to give her command over their kingdom.

The hybrid wanted to keep the body; and they weren't opposed to it, although Pride answered first.

The king offered him a small nod, puffed out their chest, and agreed. The weasel thought back to their previous exploits before they'd joined the Seven. "Yes, of course. I may be able to offer some ah... medic skills. Greed will agree..." They'd saved Reseda's life, after all. They glanced at her, a little bit smugly.
Not that she really had a choice but to agree; Envy was her king, and the clear authority here. That being said, did they really want to be stuck in a room with one of their greatest enemies? With one- or a relative of the ones- who'd almost torn them apart?

Besides, as their gaze drifted back to Pride, they couldn't help but wonder if they could also be capable of inducing... some kind of mild sickness, on their short visits, and also the ability to cure it. With their magical prowess, if the ability existed, they would be the perfect weasel for the job. They felt their quills tremble with trepidation.

The dragon, too, had set up a pitiable cry that left their ears ringing, and they used their forepaws to straighten their crown, even if it wasn't tilted in the slightest. Envy tilted their ears back and thought. "Don't worry, don't worry. If you get sick, I'll fix you. And hey, maybe I'll even give you more gold if you don't make a fuss about it," they coerced, more to shut the giant up than anything else.


Speech. Thought.

@Baneberry

Baneberry let out a low rumble toward's the green lizard, anger rising. No, she would have father's remains. Otherwise, she would leave and tell mama that they had killed Father, even if they didn't. She shot a seething glare towards the green devil, the one that had brought Father here.

"No. I want his remains. I do not care if they might be diseased. That is my father, the only one other than Huckleberry who understood me. I will take his remains with me to the tower, and if not, I will take them anyway and risk getting his disease." She firmly demanded of the komodo, and the rest of the creatures gathered there. One thing she inherited from her mother was stubbornness, and it was really showing now.

@Greed

Reseda stared at the hybrid, wishing that it weren't so stubborn. It would all be so much easier if it weren't so stubborn. She needed the gem. She couldn't hand it over to anyone but the Collector. She glanced over towards Envy, wanting to project her magic to them, try to convince them what she needed. How they were going to get out of this one. But for some reason, the magic didn't come. She pushed harder at it, harder, and then a splitting migraine ripped through her head and a shiver of magic went through her body. Instinctively, she clawed at her head, as if she could scrape off the sudden terrible headache before she realized what she was doing.

She tried to shake it off but...it was a really bad headache. She gritted her teeth as she tried to get out the words. "No...we cannot have you taking the remains. They are ours. Not...not yours. I was...the victor I should keep...it. I-I mean...the king. King Envy should do what they want with it." She shook her head to try and clear the buzzing but it just wasn't going away.

"As for you offer, Pride, Your Majesty, I will do...what I can. I may not like you...and you may not...like me but I like them even less. You know I'll...do my best to destroy them." If Reseda were in her right mind she would not even have considered saying anything like this, especially in front of one of the enemy.

She hissed low, her claws scraping at the rock. "If we are quite done here..."

@Dread

The dragon listened, indifferent. When they spoke, they seemed a little confrontational, but Dread couldn't really figure out who was with who, and who was on whose side. All he did was listen, and wait.

He did, however, look hungrily back to the body. He'd already eaten his fill, but he wanted the rest, and they were talking about leaving with it. Giving it to someone else.

He looked to Envy, eyes blinking, and waited.