Envy's heart was still pounding as they bounded away from the place where they had escaped, feeling humiliated and angry beyond measure. Eventually, they could hear nothing but their own heart pounding and their ragged breaths heaving their emaciated sides. It was only then that they slowed to a crawl and turned back, looking the way they'd come across Orion.

Rage and humiliation filled them, but also a feeling of triumph. They'd gotten away.

They weren't planning on being used for a toothpick anytime soon, and they weren't planning on being treated like that again; they just had to get bigger, and they just had to get better. They swung around again, fear putting a twitch into their motions. Before they could stop themselves, they were screeching triumphantly into the dark;

"Nice try, asshole!"

And it was only then that the adrenaline began to dissipate, causing their head and tail to droop. They'd gotten away, for sure, but they were exhausted. Their slim stomach was ravening and their dry throat yearned for the gentle caress of water.

Envy slumped down onto the ground, focusing inwards as they groped for the wisp of magic that they'd come to depend on. With their fur prickling with magic, the young one felt their fur dampen, and the sharp edge to their thirst dissipated. They gave a shudder of relief, and let their breaths gradually even out.

---

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

tags: @Oliver
notes: here

Oliver was perched atop one of the buildings of Orion, wincing as he tried to bauble a largish stone atop it. He hadn't done much but eat, sleep and observe the natural life of Origin thus far in his own life--alone and lonely whenever his mother, sister or father were not around.

But the Lights were out. And this, he understood, was problematic; and so he'd taken the single magic his mother had taught him, and was doing his best to provide lights of his own.

The jagged rock lit up, providing another in a long line of glowing stones along the building tops, and he looked around, trying to gauge how much he had left to do.

Well, all the caves, really. Everything's still mostly dark.

The hybrid crow-dog looked around, planning his route over the roofs, and--

He jerked his head around sharply, tufted ears rapidly rotating, pale blue eyes wide at the sound of shouting. The glowing stone was left behind and he lifted up a smaller glowing stone that he used for his own navigation between two talons, hopping to the roof's edge before gliding down with a single beat of his black wings.

With a strange and lolloping gait--somewhere between a bird's hopping and a dog's gallop--he made his way toward the noise, calling out. His tone was gentle, not threatening, nor particularly deep.

"Hello..? Is someone--is everyone okay?" he called, worriedly.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Envy

Although they were lying exhausted on the ground, as they heard footsteps rapidly approaching, Envy knew better than to stay out in the open. The small one slunk into the shadows of a nearby crumbled wall, hiding among rocky debris as their rounded ears twitched to alertness. The stranger stopped nearby their hiding place, and Envy's breath caught, their small, sharp fangs baring in a sudden alarm. It was a black canid... just like... that one...

Envy's toothy snarl turned to a grimace. Surely they'd heard their shout and were slinking about trying to hunt them down. The little one might have to learn to use a little more tact next time. But when the other one spoke, their voice was different; it seemed kinder, less... maniacal, for lack of a better word. Envy still shied away, body coiling.

They were in no state to run; doing so would surely drain them of everything they had, but if they could just wait here long enough, the winged canid would surely pass them by. For now, though, they needed to gather their strength above all else. As before, the weasel felt the strength flowing into their weary bones as they called desperately for nourishment. A patch of soil at their paws crumbled into dust, and a nearby patch of moss drooped.

They shuddered in relief, the ache of hunger fading from the pit of their hollow belly.

---

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

tags: @Oliver
notes: here

Oliver paused, canine brow furrowed up in concern, at about where he'd thought the cry.

There's nothing here.

Faint fear spiked through him, and he pulled back, looking to and fro, not yet catching the faint scent of the weasel. For now he pulled his light-stone back to his chest, wings folding around him protectively, ears rotating and pale blue eyes wide as he scanned the darkness around him.

What if it was some predator, luring him in to kill him...? He wasn't all that big.

Hesitant, cautious, ready to flee, he tried to call out again--quieter, this time, and uncertain.

"H... Hello?"

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Envy

Thanks to the fact that they were no longer raveling, Envy felt a slim shred of confidence sneaking back into their chest, but they tried not to let it grow too much. To add to that, the strange one's voice seemed uncertain, as though afraid that Envy was some kind of a monster. That was enough to dull the edge on their fear, too, and Envy found themselves considering their options.

For a while they simply watched; they had no idea of the creature's intentions, and their heart pounded in their chest.

They wished they knew what was going through the other creature's head- the thought that they may be here to eat them whole weighed heavy on the young one's mind. The more they focused, though, the more they wished, the more they couldn't help but wonder; is there a way to see? If there was, Envy would be in a much better place to decide. If only they could know, if only they could use their magic to reach out...

Envy felt thin threads of magic weaving, tantalizingly, beneath their grasp. Would it work? Was it even possible? Envy narrowed their eyes, lulled into a state of concentration by the gravity of the situation. Envy felt a surge of magic through their gem, and a flood of emotions surged through them. Fear, but not like what they'd felt. Nervousness. Hesitation. Kindness. Compassion. contentedness. They could no longer feel their stomach turning in its near-constant state of starvation. there was no bitterness, no gem sticking in their throat or the coppery taste of cinnabar. They felt happiness.

Loneliness, yes, but this one was happier than Envy had ever been.

Envy felt their own emotions come flooding back to them in a haze of bitterness and envy, they felt the hunger that stretched their belly taut, but they remained stock-still, as though the feelings weren't their own. They groped, desperately, for that feeling of contentedness, but it was already long gone. The little weasel felt like they'd been suddenly been displaced, their own emotions all so meaningless. This other being... had it so much better.

Desperate for another feel, Envy's limbs almost moving by themselves, the little weasel felt themselves crawling out of their hiding spot, a dazed look spread across their face. "P-please don't take it away," they begged, their voice small, and it was the peading voice of the child they were trying so hard not to be.

---

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

tags: @Oliver
notes: here

Oliver gave a sharp jerk, flinching abruptly away from the voice that suddenly came from--oh.

Down there.

He peered, concern washing back over him at once, the fear immediately forgotten.

"Take what away?" he asked softly, lowering himself down to the weasel's level, or as best as he could. He blinked, a bit.

The lights. It must be the--lights? That's all I was doing?

An impulse of compassion took him, and he gently pushed out his own baubled stone, peering. With one long-taloned black foot, he scooted it over until it was at the tiny weasel's front paws.

It looks terrified?! Or--upset? What do I do? Worried, the hybrid gently spoke again.

"The--light? You need the light? You can keep it--don't be afraid," he added softly.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Envy

Envy's pleading gaze rested on the strange hybrid, and as their connection to the world and their own emotions began to return, the young one felt a familiar pain. Tears welled up in their eyes, and they sniffled, trying to hold it back as they puffed out their chest and tried to look big and strong and great. They raised a paw and rubbed their face on the back of it, a sob catching in their throat.

The weasel watched as the stranger rolled a softly glowing orb their way- so similar to their own, all the way back at the side of the stream. How they wished they had its comfort here with them now, but this one was going to have to do. They rose up onto their hind limbs and accepted the gift without thanks, holding it still with their forepaws as they coiled their emaciated form around it.

"The... the... the happiness..." Envy tried to explain themselves but found such a feat to be impossible. Their lower jaw trembled. They lifted their lip and tried to force a grin, but it came across only as a grimace. Finally, the little one gulped. "I felt it. You feel good. Happy... I want that... Someday..."

Envy knew as soon as they were speaking that happiness wasn't a gift that someone could just give. Unlike the other things they'd envied... power, glowing stones, strength... But happiness wasn't something that could just be given. They remembered why they'd chosen their name, when they'd seen their mother so strong and fit, and and they'd envied her... Now, they knew how she felt, and they wanted it all the more.

Envy sniffled again, hiding their face in their paws.

---

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

tags: @Oliver
notes: here

Oliver watched with ever-deepening concern as the tiny creature rubbed a paw over its face, seemingly extremely upset by--something. It took the glowing stone that he had offered, and he noted with even more worry how thin it looked as it wrapped around its light.

He was concerned, and bewildered, but he didn't know what to say; he remained silent as the creature spoke, jaw trembling. Oliver hesitated, then spoke gently, leaning down with an attempt to give the creature a gentle nudge with his snout, through its fur.

"Are you--okay? You look--thin and what--I felt happy? You-... Felt how I felt?" He was confused, to say the least, but he knew that there was a great deal of magic in these caves, magic he didn't yet fully understand. He slowly lowered himself to lay on the ground, peering with worry at the weasel.

"I don't--entirely understand but--what can I do? Can I help you somehow?"

His impulsively compassionate nature both drove him to wish to aid her--and had him distressed at Envy's apparent misery.

What was wrong with the weasel? And what could he do to help?

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Envy

Envy was silent for a time, until they felt the nudge of the winged canid's nose against the fur of their neck, no doubt feeling their bony spine beneath the fur. Their ears twitched to the other creature's questions, and Envy nodded, although it was halfhearted. Their head rose slowly and their paws dropped back down onto the glowing object the stranger had given them. They'd be keeping this. Envy puffed out their chest and tried to look as proud as they could despite their wet eyes and bedraggled fur.

With the strange feelings faded, it was time to fix their reputation.

"Yes! I'm... I'm fine," they forced out with another grimacing grin, and another sniffle. They nodded their head as the bird-canine continued to ask questions. "I-I'm thin because I never need to eat or drink! There's n-nothing wrong," the little one said, blinking away more tears and sniffing. They puffed out and coiled a little tighter around the glowing object. "A-and yes... I think so." they tried to stop themselves sounding as uncertain as they felt, but they were unable to stop it leaking through.

They cleared their throat, shaking their head to try and clear away the last of the disconnect and the bitterness.

I don't care if they're happy! Just... make it go away... they told themselves, but a part of them still craved to feel it again. They tried desperately to shake it off, a shudder running through them from nose to tail.

"I'm fine! See? Look!"

... though they weren't much to look at.

---

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

tags: @Oliver
notes: here

Oliver peered, and listened, and considered what he was hearing.

Now... he was no genius, but something the weasel said just didn't add up right. Hesitating, for a moment, he glanced around, frowning--then spoke, gently and a little confused.

"But-... If you're thin, doesn't that usually mean you--aren't eating enough?" he asked softly. He paused, then, unsure. He wanted to help; he just--wasn't sure how.

"Do-... Do you want another light-rock?" he asked, half-worried, half-hopeful. That was-... something he could do, anyway. "Are you sure there's--nothing wrong?"

Maybe he could get the weasel some food..? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything right now; the poor little animal seemed to have gone from miserable and terrified to just fine in the space of a few seconds, and the crow-dog had absolutely no idea what to make of this.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Envy