Envy was curled in on themselves, attention focused inward as they kept the magic pouring through their fur. Their sides slowly rose and fell, but their rounded ears were attentively perked. they weren't about to make the same mistake twice. In recent times, the flow had magic had resulted in an interesting change; their formerly sienna fur now bore an odd, greenish tint.

They'd settled into a state of melancholy calm, telling themselves that they couldn't afford another lapse on an emotional level. to be strong, they had to keep calm. They were strong, they just had to keep telling themselves that and it would come true. The pit of their stomach boiled with anger... or, what they'd convinced themselves was anger. in truth, it was undeniably something far deeper, suppressed. Envy, the feeling that had had a recent resurgence in them. Insecurity, as the thought of their own size and all-too-apparent mortality was all too real. But there was something else, too, a distinct loneliness that Envy buried underneath layers of anger and nastiness in a desperate hope it'd make them stronger.

What had brought this on?

Deep down, it had always been there. In the beginning, they clung to their adopted mamma, and desperately clutched for the acceptance of the strong. Now, they desperately sought for admiration and praise, even if they refused outwardly to admit it. But recently, they'd started to notice a pattern. Others just wouldn't follow them. They called the weasel mean or hateful, never strong. Didn't they know how hard it was for Poor Envy? Couldn't they see how hard they'd worked? Surely they could see how much power it took to rise above all that and become someone like them?

It wasn't fair.

Ency rolled over onto their back, raising their long belly to the lights and heaving a deep sigh. They rested their paws across their emaciated chest, closing their lilac eyes once again. They could feel their tear ducts prickling, but they knew they couldn't let themselves cry. No, they had to be strong, as usual.

No, it isn't fair.


"speak."

@Desire

Once again, on a whim, the little snake had left her beloved Eridanus to explore the caves.

Well, she wasn't so little anymore.

She'd grown, and grown, and grown, and while she wasn't exactly sure how big she was, she'd still managed to grow since when she'd met Dragon, and that hadn't been so long ago. Desire's ever increasing size had brought with it ever increasing confidence. The python had been momentarily knocked down a peg when she met Dragon, but she just knew she had gotten bigger and maybe - well. He'd still be awfully big.

But anyway, she was bigger than all the other creatures she'd met since then. And she was probably bigger than the ones she'd met before that! Some of the, had probably grown, like Winter, but even she thought Desire would get bigger than her. Desire had a feeling she did.

It was this kind of size that gave her the confidence to leave Eridanus once again, to exit its relative safety and overgrown comforts and traverse the exposed tunnels of the world. Incidentally, these travels had led her back to the cave of glowing stars, a place she had neither been to before or returned to after meeting Winter. It was nice, she supposed, with sparkling lights and crystals, glittering moss and fungi. The lightshow could not replace the greenery of her birthplace.

It was amidst these musings that Desire took in a familiar scent. Initially, it had struck her as off: too green for this place. It was green like the inside of a new leaf, but musty and warm and full of blood. An animal - a gembound. Beating heart. The smell of - sickness. Envy!

Desire slithered forward, fast as she could - this great size hindered her speed, she lamented - stopping where the scent was strongest and - there! Her friend! "Envy!" she called aloud, excitement bubbling in her chest.

@Envy

Envy's head shot up as they heard a voice- perhaps familiar, but also... aged, and strangely unfamiliar? They looked around, hastily rolling over onto their front. The joyous excitement in the voice was unfamiliar, and they couldn't help their heart picking up speed. It wasn't Li, for sure; Li didn't have a voice like that. However, a quick turn of their head soon answered their questions. Their eyes opened wide in surprise at the shape they saw slithering rapidly towards them. They shot to their paws, but even so was dwarfed.

A bewildered expression came across their face as she filled their vision the nearer she got.

"D-Desire!" they fumbled over their words slightly, shocked by the change, and remembering the tiny noodle that they'd met all those cycles ago. They sniffed cautiously, but lo and behold, the scent was the same. Desire was really here, and she really was that big.

Geez. What has she been eating? was their first thought, closely followed by the emotion that gave them their name. But also... there was something else, too. As they rose up on their hindpaws, trying to regain some semblance of dignity, the weasel remembered what they'd said to her, and bristled as hot embarrassment shot down their spine. Unsure what else to do, the weasel let out a laugh, and their voice was almost as shrill as it had been when they'd first met all those cycles ago.

"I know I t-told you to get big for me, but c'mon! Leave some for me, won't you?" they said, and there was more than a hint of jealousy in their tone, but also a sense of strained relief.

I have to be strong. Don't let yourself show too much, idiot. The Envy she remembers isn't you. You're better than that.

The usually snarky weasel felt their fur flush with heat, and they felt every inch of their brain telling them to snap, to be angry, to tease. But the excitement in her voice, the memories... they didn't have it in them to push her away.

They shoved the thoughts of acting aside, despite their stomach turning over with indecision.

They were hurting right now, and... so long as she didn't go blabbing, they'd cling to whatever positivity she brought. No matter how much their spine arched and fur quivered with revulsion at their own lack of resolve. They quivered and twitched.

"speak."

@Desire

Envy stuttered and sputtered and Desire giggled. "You can still get big, I bet!" She laughed. "But I'm still growing, every day!" The great white python wound around her friend, around, and around, making a large circle of many layers. She had to burn off the excitement somehow - something about seeing Envy just made her giddy. She wound her way back to where she started, looking Envy in the face again. "You definitely got bigger, Envy! I think you're way bigger than when I met you, seriously! And, come on, it's not like there's any creatures the same as you to show you up. I still know a snake that's bigger than me! And I met somebody that says all snakes get big, so I'm probably considered small!" She'd caught the jealousy, the feeling of less than that had tainted Envy's tone, and she sought desperately to banish it. She wanted happiness for her friend, especially at such a reunion.

"I bet you learned way more magic since we last saw each other. I only learned a little." She drew closer to Envy, excitedly, thinking of which she could try. She could grow plants in different places, and she knew there was more she hadn't yet tried. "Did you? Learn more? I bet they're really cool." Envy's magic had been more varied - though not necessarily more practiced - than hers by s long shot. She didn't want to show Envy what she had until Envy showed her.

@Envy

As desire laughed, the weasel's cheeks burned, fur bristling with embarrassment. "Don't make fun of me," they said, voice shrill with indignance, their fluster getting the better of them before they could stop it. The snake went on, saying that she thought they'd gotten bigger, and they couldn't help but feeling she was making it all up. The weasel burned off the embarrassment in a series of tail twitches. They rubbed the green-tinted fur of their chest, combing it through with little claws. But they bit their tongue to stop themselves lashing out, a pained look creasing their brow. They'd wanted this, hadn't they? But what, exactly, was it they'd been after? Unquestioning loyalty and stoicism? they didn't think this counted. this was too happy. Envy couldn't help a prickle of nervous suspicion. Why was flattery so hard to accept? "But you're so.. so..."

Envy took in the sight of the snake winding around them without a trace of fear, watching the light dancing off her pale scales and the rippling of her many muscles. Big? Beautiful? Strong? ...In short, everything they wished they were. They couldn't tear their gaze away.

The weasel visibly perked up though, as the snake questioned them on magic. They had, in their opinion, learned a lot since their last meeting, and they hadn't had much of an opportunity to show it off, aside from brief practices alone. Lilac eyes flashed in pride. They thought back to what they'd showed Desire last time, and wondered if, with Kin-Kin's teachings, they could perhaps repeat the tick, but far more intricately... "I have," Envy said with a grin that showed small and pointed fangs. "A lot of it, in fact!" they winked, taking in a deep breath, and allowing their focus to drift inwards. "Watch this!"

There was a long pause, as Envy followed the threads of magic throughout their being but, like threads of mist, were unable to get a solid grasp on the complex power of light. They closed their eyes in embarrassment and frustration. "...Hmph... it's a very complex magic. Give me a second. For now you'll just have to... you know, admire my physique... Or something." they concentrated a moment longer, rubbing their paws together. "...Oh yeah, you seen my fur? That's magic. And permanent. Suits me, right?"


"speak."

@Desire

Desire tilted her head. "I'm not making fun of you. I would never." She would've frowned if she could've - it didn't occur to her to make a joke out of Envy. She only wanted to make them feel better. She wanted to make them happy. Envy trailed off with whatever was never to be said, but excitement bubbled in Desire as they announced their new magic. She hissed with excitement, eager to see what Envy - a prodigy, in her eyes - had since learned. Alas - the magic fizzled out. That had happened last time they'd met, hadn't it? "I bet you're much better at learning them," Desire said. "It's much harder to do them." She giggled at "admire my physique," and let out a little gasp of awe at the last bit of information. She hadn't noticed the green tinge! She felt a little silly for it. "That's so cool, Envy!" Desire was pleased with her body - her scales represented her "snakeness" in a way - Winter had similar coloring, and for that, Desire would forever tie it to the experience of meeting another snake for the first time. It was strange, come to think of it, to see Envy donning this mossy-colored coat, but it apparently wasn't odd enough for her to notice right away. Whatever makes them happy.

"I have some new magic, too, Envy! I've never used it before but I know it's there...let me try!" Desire focused hard on this unfamiliar magic, hoping it would work...
The magic came, albeit sputtering and tripping over itself, warmth and discomfort spreading across Desire's head and stomach. Her muscles tightened a little, and she shifted, antsy, for a moment, and then it dissipated. For a few seconds longer she felt out of place. She looked to the weasel. "T...that was strange. Did you feel that?" She wasn't exactly sure what it was supposed to do, but she'd felt uncharacteristically warm for a snake and...embarrased? Yes, that. But where did those feelings come from...?

@Envy

Envy was about to snark, but for some reason, the want- the need- fizzled out, as the snake's tone of voice appeared to have more of an effect than they'd anticipated. They twitched uncomfortably. "Oh, well, uh... good," they said, with a curt nod. their gaze flickered away for a moment in uncertainty, and for some reason, a moment later, they felt compelled to add "-thanks," and, even though the word was quickly and bluntly spoken, it was the first they'd uttered it in their short and spoiled life.

At her words, Envy's fur fluffed out indignantly. They puffed out their chest. "I'm good at doing them too!" they chirped shrilly, coiling uncomfortably. "It's just that it's... a very hard spell. And m-magic can be finnicky!" Envy breathed in deep, soothing themselves, and then cleared their throat. "You'll see why when it works." And then, Envy took a deep breath, focusing hard, coiling tight into themselves.

come on, come on...

Envy gasped as powerful magic gushed through their body, overflowing from them like a waterfall. It sent the air around them glowing and glittering, and soon the Weasel's spindly frame was hidden by a shroud of light. The shroud reformed, gaining transparent scales and a long, coiled form- finally, a mirror image of Desire pressed its nose to hers, glowing softly, the picture of lithe, glowing whiteness and beauty, with crimson red eyes. ripples of transparency flickered through the otherwise opaque form. Negative emotions were soon lost in a torrent triumph.

"Yes!" Envy tittered, springing energetically out from amidst the illusory coils before disappearing again.

Soon, the illusion began to fade, and Envy was once again settled alone in the coils of their friend.

They preened their chest with their paws as Desire appreciated their newfound greenness, despite their overall tattered looks. they nodded, turning in a circle with their stubby forelimbs raised skyward, showing off all their greenness. "And it's permanent, too!"

They looked up in curiosity as she spoke of a new kind of magic, straightening up and watching her expectantly. Something they could steal? they tilted their head, but no visible magic came. The weasel seemed confused, and narrowed their eyes a little suspiciously. Could it be that...? no, that was their magic, she couldn't have... could she?

"Feel what?"


"speak."

@Desire

Desire watched with wonderment as Envvy summoned a gush of magic, a white snake phasing into existence, nose to nose with her. "A snake?" she breathed. But the ruby eyes, the crystal spines climbing over her skull... "Me?" Her gaze was fixated on the mirror image, oblivious to Envy's disappearing act. "But Envy...how?" In moments, the other Desire dissipated, and Envy reappeared. Desire stared at the space between her and the weasel with disbelief. "I - she - you mean I...was never really there?" She squinted, widened her eyes, stared. Amazing. There was a fluttering of her heart at this thought; Envy was admirable, and powerful, and size had nothing to do with it.

The sense of embarrassment had quickly waned, but Envy hadn't seemed to feel it. "Oh, um. I don't know. It felt like...I was a little embarrassed, maybe anxious. And I felt warm, which really doesn't happen often, you know. I'm always cold. Can't help it. It was strange. I could try it again? Maybe you'll feel it too?"

@Envy

Envy grinned broadly at Desire, nodding slowly as she came to the realization of their skill, stammering and questioning. The weasel swelled with pride, puffing out their chest and baring their fangs in a broad grin. "That's right!" they chirped. Then they grinned. "I figured out how to control lights, and make things that aren't really there. Cool, right? D-don't tell anyone though! It might be useful later." They realized belatedly that they might have let slip one of their secret weapons. But it was too late now; and besides, Desire's stunned shock made it more than worth it.

Envy hesitated as Desire described her magic again. When she described it, they thought they might recognize it... but they hated to admit it. "W-wait, that might be..." The thought brought a thread of bitterness creeping into their sour heart, and they shook their head. It seemed Desire might have unwittingly figured out one of their magics! That changed things; made them nervous. She'd be able to feel everything, like Dezba could when they'd touched the flower. The weasel liked to guard their knowledge jealously, but maybe they hadn't kept it enough to themselves. or maybe she'd figured it out herself, in a moment of blissful serendipity. But what were the chances? Pretty slim.

Envy felt their jealous little heart twinge uncomfortably, tugging down the pride and joy. They folded their paws on their chest, trying to figure out what to say. It was magic! There was no way they could take it back. The weasel's lilac eyes glanced back up towards Desire. "...I think know that spell," they said, pausing to choose their words carefully. "It, uh... steals emotions from other creatures. Maybe you got them from- uh- a cave rat, or something!? Yes, a cave rat! That would explain everything, wouldn't it?"

But Envy was certain they knew the truth, and it scared and soured them at once. They stared at her nervously, fur lifting at their back.


"speak."

@Desire

Desire's awe never waned, even as Envy revealed their magic's method. If anything, her admiration grew; she could do nothing of the sort. The snake had no idea what such a thing could possibly be used for, but then, creating a mirror image of someone could certainly confuse... Maybe it could scare predators away? That would be helpful, but Desire was a big predator too now, and had far less to fear now than she once did. So, all she said was, "How amazing, Envy."

The snake leaned forward with interest as Envy began, having been mystified by her own magic. She tilted her head as Envy spoke, at once curious and concerned. The sparse information was given quickly. She did not understand. She said, seriously and with sincerity, "so if it steals their emotions, do they stop feeling whatever was stolen?" She wasn't sure that was a good thing. Wouldn't you want your emotions? It only seemed right to take the ones that hurt. The second part of Envy's explanation distressed her. A cave rat - a lesser thing - could feel? She knew - or ar least, assumed - that such crearures could feel pain; it was a basic lesson taught to her by Khloros. But feelings? Anxiety, anger, fear... Did they mourn family lost to her fangs, feel terror in ode last moments, the split second between freedon and her choke, the course of the entire slow death? She could not kill as quickly as she used to. The thoughts caught her up; it never occured to Desire that Envy might be lying. She hoped the weasel could offer some reassurance.

@Envy