//this is a quicky


Nisha hopped back a step and looked between green noodle Envy and White horned Pride. Then A thought hit Nisha, like a stone wall! If Envy was Charity's mom, did that mean that-

Pride! Pride! Are you my momma!? If Envy is Charity's momma does that make you mine?!" The baby raven hopped around excitedly

The small bird had totally missed what Pride had said and only caught the end of Envy saying that she could stay! This made her even more excited. Hopping in figure eights around Pride's hoofs she waited eagerly for a reply.

Charity

Charity looked expectantly for Nisha's response to learning her name, but there was none. Charity's ears twitched back in a trifle of annoyance and she looked towards Envy, then back at Nisha, before rapidly turning her attention back to Pride. Her ears perked up and she sat back on her haunches, stretching up as high as she could to meet the stag's bent muzzle. "Adventures?" she asked eagerly. "Can I come, next time? Can you make me some armour, too?"

And then, at the mention of a story, the little one brightened. "No, I haven't! What is it about?"

She listened eagerly, still clinging to the adult's forehoof. As the bird interrupted though, Charity's ears twitched back again. She didn't appear to understand the child's excitement. "Sshhhh!" she hissed frantically. "Or Pride might not tell us a story!"

@pride

Pride curled on the stone, settling himself to lie comfortably near the two children. At the idea of him being a "mom," he laughed quietly.

"No, little one, I did not create you; only found you. I do not know who your parents might be--some of us seem to spring from nowhere." And to Charity, he gave a solemn nod. "Of course I can," he agreed--"we can go on an adventure or two, and once you have finished growing, I will make you armor. It won't do to make it now, and then have you perhaps grow too large, and get it stuck!" This was said with warm and gentle humor.

And then, tilting his head in thought, he considered the tasks he was setting for himself. Adventure might be a high standard to live up to. Would Envy even agree to his making Charity armor? Perhaps he should have asked. And a story of a talking diamond--however would he do it?

"As for the talking diamond," he began slowly, trying to give himself time to think of something--and he fired Envy an amused wink, hoping they understood his little dilemma. "Once upon a time, there were no Gembound in the caves. There were only gems, which lay boasting of how beautiful they were. The ruby insisted that its red was the most vibrant color in all the caves. The sapphire countered that its color was that of the running water, and that nothing was more pure. The emerald said that it was the color of plants, and life, and the only gemstone so beautiful. Only the diamond remained quiet--for it had no color, and how could it boast of such a thing as beauty?" He regarded both children very solemnly, though he honestly doubted that the raven, at least, would hold her attention on the story for very long. But perhaps, he thought, she would surprise him.

"Then, one day, a mysterious bird came to the cave. It was vast, and a smooth, bright white, so that one could not tell one of its feathers from the next. It began to go through the caves, and ask each gemstone a question; and for each answer, it granted the stone magic of a different sort. To each stone, it asked this question..." And here Pride eyed Nisha and Charity intently, as if telling them that this part would be important.

"Which do you most value--strength, beauty, intelligence, or kindness?" He paused, for a moment, to let them linger on this thought, perhaps to think of their own answer to the question, or to consider it. Then he went on. "As each stone gave its answer, the great white bird gave it life. Each stone went silent, and grew for a time, and then a creature burst forth. Almost every stone, of course, had valued beauty--and so there were a great many beautiful creatures, all full of vibrant, jewel-like colors, elegant long necks, and graceful movements. Their voices were as music, and they were awe-inspiring to even look upon."

He shifted in place, a little.

"There were a few that wished for strength, and they became large, powerful Gembound, or those with power over others, or mastery of magic. And they wanted for nothing, and did not miss being beautiful; if they wanted beauty, they had but to look to their neighbors. There were those that chose intelligence, and found that they learned that beauty and strength did not matter so much as cunning; that wisdom could find a path where strength and charm failed. And lastly, those who chose kindness found that it did not matter one way or another--that everyone was good, in their own way, and that to be kind to all was a great and wondrous gift. But the diamond! We cannot blame it, for it always wished to be beautiful, and it had watched as one by one, the other stones were given life. And so when the white bird came to it, and asked it its question, the diamond said that it wished beauty above all else."

"And so the bird granted it life, and the diamond fell into its long sleep. When it woke, it was beautiful indeed: a serpent, long and graceful. At first, it was miserable to find that it still held no color! It was as clear and as plain as before, so that it could have cried with grief, though its crystalline scales were still beautiful to behold. But then it moved--as it could not move before."

Pride lifted his head, summoning his magicka and tilting his neck this way and that so that the diamonds on his throat caught the light and glittered. He accented it with magic, the spell that Mercurius had taught him, so that each of the colors that the gemstones caught were brightened, shimmering in a rainbow that glittered over the stone before him, and over the children--it took some effort, and it was not as glorious as he'd have liked, but he hoped it impressed them nonetheless.

"And it was then that the diamond realized that it held all of the colors of the rainbow--each and every one, depending upon how it turned and twisted. Now that it could shift through the light, it did so, and it was the most beautiful gem of them all."

Pride paused, and gave both children a kindly look. At his back, the hare still perched, silent and uncaring for his story, but not impatient; it seemed content.

"May I ask which you would value, were the white bird to ask you its question?" he asked them both.

@Envy

Envy's presence, their words, appeared quickly lost in the chaos. Truth be told, it had been a long time since they were around so many other Gembounds- and never in the centre of it all. Their crown didn't seem to mean very much at this moment in time- but at least the baby bird seemed pleased by their offer to stay. Pride was quickly stealing the limelight, and Envy had little choice but to settle in the backseat, to listen to his story with a barely-audible sigh, and contemplate how best to take it back.

They listened to Pride's story with a largely peaceful expression, with only the occasional twitch of their spones betraying the myraid of thoughts whirring around inside their head. They thought about making the gems- the emerald, the sapphire, the ruby- perhaps they could do the same as they had done for the story of the wolf and put on a show of puppetry.

But as Pride's story concluded with the beautiful white snae, Envy felt their breath catch in their throat. They thought back to all their cycles, and knew, immediately, what they wanted to do.

They remembered an old, old friend from their childhood- a snake called Desire- and they realized then that they missed her- it had been such a long time since they'd last seen her- if only she could see them now. But most importantly, they remembered what they had done to impress her.

Seemingly oblivious to Pride's own display, Envy tried to tap into the magic held within their gem, and felt the familiar pins-and needles sensation running from their tongue to the tips of their toes.

But somehow, it felt wrong- they had it in their mind, the image of her- the snake bursting with pristine colours with her wondrous eyes and her gem- if they remembered rightly- diamond too. The weasel felt themselves faltering, and the magic filled their being, ready to burst- but then they hit a crossroads. How could they make her any more beautiful than she already was?

Instead of the image of the snake- coiled so wondrously proud- the image that manifested before them- fleetingly- hazily, waveringly- was a memory. Instead of the snake from Pride's story, it as her- a white snake with red eyes, coiled up, with just a plain brown weasel- not quite fully grown- perched upon one of her coils- so tiny, and so sickly- so thin, with balding spots and scruffy fur. But both looked happy.

Envy cut it off. Envy cut it off so violently theat there was a flash of light as the magic dissipated, and they stumbled back, panting, with eyes watery. They'd fucked up. No, no no.

Pride couldn't see that.

Charity couldn't see that. Especially not a complete stranger!

Envy stumbled back, and, to hide the tears forming in their eyes, they shot up onto the Throne, turning their back on Pride, Charity and the bird.

Speech. Thought.

@Nisha

[quote='Nisha' pid='51713' dateline='1545227316']

NOTES

---

While the little black bird was upset that Pride was not her "mother" she accepted it. Nisha had a feeling that she wouldn't get as big as Pride was, or as kind. The other child hissed at Nisha and the small girl was taken aback at the sudden noise. When the deer spoke of the story though she hopped closer and scooted closer to the other young-ling.

Of course Nisha's mind did stray from time to time throughout the story she caught the overall theme of it, kind of at least. When Pride asked her and Charity what they wanted Nisha thought about what she wanted, really.

Obviously The black inkling of a bird thought, I want whats mine. Strength wouldn't do me much good would it? Or beauty when I'm already really pretty!

Nisha popped upright, eyes beeming and amber faint with a prideful glow, "I want Intell-i-gence!" Of course Nisha didn't really know what was hers to begin with but she felt that once she saw it, she would get it no matter what!

Behind her she felt the light pop like a berry underfoot. Turning she cocked her head at Envy, they had tears in their eyes! "The king really liked your story Pride! Tell it again! They're getting emotion-emo-emotionalies." the babe attempted at the bigger word.

"She Mocks" | She Thinks | She Flies

Charity

Charity listened with wonder, her little ears pricked upright and quivering. She listened enviously to Pride's descriptions of the beauty and glory of the gemstones. She remained silent for the majority of the story, gradually tilting her head to one side, until Pride posed his question. At which point she shot up onto all four paws, tail flicking. The answer, to her, was simple. "Beauty! When I grow up I want to be as beautiful as you, Pride!"

Why value strength when she had the Seven to look out for her? And why value intelligence when she was already so clever? Although she already hoped to be beautiful when she grew, Charity imagined what could make her even more so. She looked down at her paws, and imagined them as a pure white like Pride's, and shimmering in all the colours of the rainbow.

She caught only the back end of Envy's summoned image- but she saw enough to recognise them, and see the glory of the pure-white snake with such bright red eyes. She wondered if it was intentional. Could it really be the snake from Pride's story? But why was mamma there? And why were they so plain?

No matter which way she turned them though, they were still green- a bright green, and an unusual green as far as the cave-creatures' fur went, but still green. She looked up as the bird spoke again, and followed its gaze up towards the Throne. She couldn't see the weasel from here- they'd shot up off the ground far too fast for her to see. "Mamma never gets emotional!" she told the bird, although she hurriedly scampered to the foot of the throne. "They were probably just tired after making the snake appear! Right mamma?"

@Pride

Pride peered after Envy, for a moment. He was a little baffled by their imagery--he, too, had only caught the briefest glimpse, but he thought he'd recognized young-Envy--and he had no idea who the snake had been, nor why Envy was now--well, hiding.

He knew better than to ask.

Envy would lie--they never told the truth about their emotions which were, quite frankly, baffling. The weasel seemed to always live up to their name no matter how much they had. If Pride knew just how deep that ran, he might have been disgusted, or exasperated, but he didn't. He knew only that something had upset Envy, and that they were trying to hide it.

He focused on his magicka, and on the rock before him, and he spoke.

"If you'll accept a bit of advice from a creature of diamond," he offered, and as he spoke, two tiny prongs of diamond sprang up from the stone before him, creaking and crackling. "None of those things is valuable without the rest. We may have all the power and strength in the world, but it's useless without the mind to know how to use it, or the kindness to direct it truly." The diamonds fell onto the rock, perhaps the size of the crow's eyes, and he nudged one first toward Nisha and then one toward Charity.

"And all the smarts in the world are useless without the mental strength to follow through, or the kindness to show you how to apply it; likewise the most beautiful and charming thing in the world, without kindness or a sharp mind, is cold and empty. Perhaps only the very kind have an advantage here."

He glanced back toward Envy. He wasn't sure if he'd bought them enough time to compose themselves, but he was distinctly concerned.

At his back, the hare seemed to grow impatient with his politeness. Mischief could sense his worry, and its target. Abruptly--and despite a mental cry of protest from Pride--she hopped down and took things into her own paws. A few swift bound and she was on the Throne, beside Envy, leaning in to sniff them--as if to ask if the weasel was all right, and to offer wordless comfort.

@Envy

Envy tried their best to ignore what was going on until they'd -mostly- calmed. Even then, they twitched their ears back towards Pride, and slowly turned their head back to watch him. The child's comment- even if it didn't know any better- stung. Emotional? I'm not emotional! It wasn't purposeful! And it certainly wasn't because of some stupid story!

But no matter how they tried to convince themselves, their seething fell flat. They flinched, quills perking sharply upright as they heard something touch down on the throne next to them. Like a snake, they whipped around to face the intruder- but it was only the white rabbit, towering over them. Slowly, they allowed the black tines to relax, falling once again flat against their spine, though they still quivered faintly. They glanced at Pride, as if wondering if it was hostile-- and why it had decided to come see them.

But at least they didn't seem aggravated, or annoyed- saying nothing, they just looked wearily at the much larger snow hare. They backed away just a little bit, before glancing at Pride as though wondering if he would come to remove it. But in any case, they didn't have the heart to try and push it down.


Speech. Thought.

@Nisha

NOTES

---

The bird hopped back as the other child ran to it's mother. Nisha felt somewhat scolded from her missed perception and Charity telling her almost blatantly that what Nisha had said was wrong.

Hot tears welled and threatened to spill, how could Nisha make herself look so ignorant? Being so young Nisha didn't understand or notice her chest beginning to grow hot. Smoke radiated from the child as her emotions pulled at the magic around her and put her into defense mode.

The smell of burnt skin and feathers didn't reach her nose, it was too stopped up with emotion. Hopping once towards the throne the child piped out to Charity.

"I didn't know I-I'm sorry." The raven said her voice wavering, seeing the looks on the faces around her.

It was then she noticed the smell and the pain. The small bird cried out, apricot eyes full of fear and worry. "P-P-Pride it hurts!" she sobbed the heat in her chest so intense she thought she would melt.

"She Mocks" | She Thinks | She Flies

@Charity

Charity was just trying to clamber up onto the throne when the snow hare sailed over her head and onto the throne. The little hybrid soon dropped back onto all fours and backed away, instead changing tactics and trying to peer up onto the throne, the tip of her tail twitching. She could see the rabbit facing Envy, and she strained to get a closer look.

After a while of trying, though, she turned back towards Pride with a worried look in her eye. "But Pride! You said that we could only choose one!" she reminded him, trotting back towards the deer. Her eyes widened as she beheld the gem that he pushed their way, and she hastily grabbed one in her mouth before Nisha could steal both. But luckily, it seemed the baby bird didn't seem to care, more focused on her own sorrows than Pride's offering.

Charity was just about to take the jewel to Pride to ask if he could perhaps put it in her necklace for her, when the baby bird ran towards him, filling the air with a smoke that made her eyes water, and crying out for him. She laid her small ears back and stomped a paw, looking up at the deer expectantly, the diamond jutting out of one side of her mouth.

@Pride