Pride came in more quickly than usual, though his swift steps were not urgent. Rather, the set of his shoulders and his raised head suggested that he was intent on some mission or other, with something on his mind--and his voice, calling "Envy? My King?" likewise held attentive concentration.

His hooves clicked along the stone around the Throne, his nostrils flaring as he took scent.

He had a conversation he wished to have with Envy--about so very many things. It was long overdue, in truth, but with all the chaos surrounding the caves as late (between the battle in Eridanus, their recovery, and the games in Polaris that had come after) he'd had little chance.

Now he sought them out, pacing up to the Throne itself in the hopes that he would find the weasel there, or at the very least, nearby. Silver eyes picked at the darkness, at the crumbled ruins that lay scattered through Orion. No halcyon paradise, this; it is but an empty, dusty shell. I wonder if we can change that, at last.

@Envy

Envy's head jerked upright. They had been on the throne, and asleep. A cycle had passed since sustaining their wounds, and the long hours of magic use, whilst exhausting, had begun to pay off. The scars were fading, hidden away under a fresh layer of forest-green fur. New quills had begun to emerge to replace the broken ones, and though they still looked frequently bedraggled, skinny and tired it was plain to see that they were getting there.

Charity had taken the opportunity to sneak away somewhere else; they hardly had the time to look out for her any more, as much as it set their quills on edge not seeing her there by the throne.

The weasel looked up and glanced around, soon finding the source of the familiar voice. "Pride...? Pride!" they spoke groggily, struggling to straighten themselves up and look noble before the beautiful deer. "What's wrong?"

Speech. Thought.

@Pride

Pride shook his head a little as he came up to Envy, bowing his head in greeting.

"No, no, nothing is wrong, King Envy. I did wish to speak to you a bit, if you had the time?" It would be easy enough to tell that he was interested in something. His grey eyes were brightly keen, intent; his head was high and his words to the point, though not by any means impolite. "It is a conversation I'd been putting off for some time--about the Sinful Seven."

There was nothing ominous about the way he said it; there was no threat in his words, nor lurking ultimatum. Rather, he seemed to have an idea of some kind. He might even have been excited about it--that much, with Pride, was somewhat hard to tell.

@Envy

Although Pride's interest was controlled, Envy couldn't help thinking that there was something unusual about his manner, something a little bit too pleased that sent a prickle of suspicion through them. They did relax slightly, though, as he reassured them that nothing was wrong; that gesture was plain to see in the slight lowering of their quills. "Yes, yes! Of course," they said, no hesitation, curiosity, and only a slight thrill of nervousness shooting through them as they answered. "I have all the time in the world." Although the slight twitching at the end of their tail might suggest otherwise. Even so, though, their focus on Pride was intent.

"What about the Seven? Is it growing? Shrinking? Are my subjects all well?" the weasel spoke again, right to the point, as though the pause was too much for them to take. Their kingdom had been changing a lot recently; losing and replacing members, growing, shrinking, changing... Even as its king, Envy couldn't help but feel a little bit overwhelmed.

Speech. Thought.

@Pride

"Thank you, my king." Pride tilted his head, considering Envy's questions. "As for your subjects, I am afraid I do not know. I do not even know who is among us, any longer, bar you, myself, and Reign. I have not seen anyone else in some time. That is," he went on, "part of what I wanted to discuss. Envy--..." Pride paused, his expression a little more personal, a little more curious--almost confused, in a sense.

"Who are we? I know that you wanted a kingdom; you wanted a throne, and to be King--and you have managed that. But when others ask me, 'what are the Sinful Seven?' I can only answer that I do not know. We are a kingdom; but beyond that? What do we stand for? What values do we uphold; what purpose do we serve? And why--why in the caves' names--are we still bearing the name that that fool Reseda tried to bestow upon us?"

He had more to cover, of course--more to ask, more to say--but it was important to take it one piece at a time, one step at a time. He wanted nothing to get lost.

Perhaps Envy had some idea for the Seven, and he was unaware of it. He was not only making a point--he was also genuinely asking his questions.

@Envy

Envy relaxed, but only slightly. They listened, in some disappointment, with the revelation that their kingdom was not growing-- that Pride didn't even seem to know who they were any more.

At Pride's question, they felt a slight flash of indignance; Why, they were the Seven! The Sinful Seven. They took their flaws and made them into their strengths. "In the beginning, it was about taking our flaws and making them into our strengths. And now, we're... a home for those who need it, and a place of peace from that damned goose." They thought a little more, and felt satisfied by that thought. They shook their head. "But, when the idea was first formed, Reseda wanted to... one day take over the caves. And in my... younger days... I was... you know... all for it."

They winced slightly. A lot had changed since then.

As Pride asked why they still bore the name Reseda had given them, they paused. "I just..." they started, and then broke off. The name of the Seven was closely intertwined with their own name, Envy. The name, the Sinful Seven, made them truly feel like a king. Like it was theirs, somehow. It was a name that bared their deepest darkest side, their greatest weakness, for all the world to see, and they hated it, yet couldn't seem to shake themselves free. Yet, the name of the Seven meant it didn't feel like such a big deal.

The weasel opened their jaws slightly to respond, and then didn't. They looked down towards their paws as they thought, tail barb softly scraping against the throne.

Speech. Thought.

@Pride

Pride listened, considering, tilting his head a little. Well, he thought to himself, mulling all this over, the bit about the goose makes sense, at least.

"Very well," he began, slowly. His voice was contemplating, thoughtful. "I still do not believe that any part of us were 'sinful' nor that sins are in any way weaknesses. I tend to call us 'The Seven' as that sounds--better, I think. More intimidating, perhaps," he added with faint amusement. "But at the moment, so far as I can tell, we do not even number that many. You know, Envy-... King Envy," he corrected himself, and as he spoke he lowered himself to lay down. He appeared to be deeply thoughtful, tilting his head and watching the seemingly-weary weasel as he spoke.

"You and I are, I think, some of the most magically-powerful beings in the caves. And we have both seen what it is to be at the wrong end of those who would abuse others--the malicious, the violent. I was thinking--just a thought--that perhaps we could be something like you say, but more... officially. A force to protect against such things. We could... gather other fighters to our cause. A few of the more powerful, perhaps; and offer sanctuary in our ranks, training even, to anyone who wishes it. Orion could be a bastion of fairness, of justice and peace, enforced by us. We could truly stand for something; we could be known and admired through the caves, yes, but also truly do something for others."

He looked slowly around. "What we have now is only ruins, and only a few of us--but we could be so much more. We have allies; perhaps the Kingdom of Eridanus could be asked to grow gardens here, so that we might allow those herbivores who need sanctuary to live here safely, under our protection? As it is we must often journey to Eridanus simply for a good meal."

Pride paused again, thoughtful and silent for a long moment before going on. "I thought perhaps we could stand for something--protection against that damned goose and her ilk is a start. But we could take it further. We could be the center of the caves, truly--we could be its protectors, and we could do something great."

@Envy

The tip of Envy's tail twitched, and they listened to Pride's musings, considering them. He was, of course, right; Reseda's banishment left them with a lot of her influence, her idea of its purpose doomed to remain unfulfilled, it seemed. Pride spoke of his interpretation. The Seven. Envy, too, had called it that in the past. And yet... changing it felt like they were admitting a mistake. Like they were shying away from something. They were disconnecting, somehow, their kingdom from their name. As he said that the Seven did not even seem to have seven members, they opened their mouth to disagree, only to close it again. It had been cycles, since they'd seen Gluttony, Wrath, and Sirius. Lust and Reseda had been banished... Even Reign had grown distant.

They felt themselves growing smaller in that moment, helpless.

They nodded, slowly, glancing back up at Pride as he referred to them by title.

They rose up slightly, as he flattered them, referring to them-- well, them and Pride-- as the most powerful beings, magically speaking, in Origin Cave. They felt any lingering self-pity squashed in that single, glorious moment, for an instant feeling a flare of pride. Real pride. The deer's words invoked imagery of powerful creatures living, training and protecting under their rule. Pride spoke of admiration and respect, of being known across the caves for their power, and their deeds.

Their gaze grew distant, and for a rare moment, they were still-- allowing the tiniest flame of ambition to once again take hold and kindle in their chest.

Pride spoke of growing gardens-- turning the ancient ruin of Orion into a place of Paradise and worth. It was a nice thought, but --although Envy didn't say it-- the least of their concerns, compared to the rest. Finally, as Pride finished, they looked up, their tired eyes filled, in that moment, with a shining sparkle of hope. They felt, in that moment, they could really, truly be a king- and not just a weasel on a throne, who'd bartered for Reseda's approval and gotten it. Still, the mere possibility felt too good to be true. Surely that too, would crumble into ruins. Everything seemed to, when it came to them. "Do you really think it could happen?"

Speech. Thought.

@Pride

Pride peered at Envy with some surprise at their words.

"I believe that anything could happen, with the will to make it so, yes. And I think we both have the power to do so. Think about this, for a moment. The Kingdom of Eridanus has those who wish to protect the plant life of the caves. These--Bonebound--they are but a family in Canis. And the Children of Rot are perhaps the secret-keepers. But fighters? Warriors, protectors--perhaps Rift's lot has some of that, but they are not dedicated to it throughout the caves. They focus on the plant life. We could focus on training true fighters for our defense. Formidable, experienced fighters. I'm not sure how to go about recruiting, but I do not doubt that training would be easy enough--sparring, puzzles, games even..." He trailed off, thinking this over, for a moment.

"Perhaps we could all wear armor, or... get matching dye tattoos," he added with distant amusement, the idea of a matching army of mismatched species somehow amusing to him. He could see it now: himself, glimmering with blue, resplendent in his diamond armor--and Envy atop his head, similarly decked out.

"We could use a bird," he went on, thinking aloud, "as a scout, perhaps, and to--now--find potential new recruits. What do you think? Do you know any? I am trying to imagine how to even begin this undertaking--assuming you are willing. I would be happy to handle the training, of course, or at least to aid with it?" A pause, and then--"Perhaps Charity could take some part in it, as well. A Prince is a title of nobility, but it implies that she will be nothing unless you perish and she takes your place. Perhaps she'd prefer to be a general," he added, with amusement, "or a scout, I do not know."

@Envy

Envy nodded as Pride mentioned each of the other groups in turn. "We could even be allies with the others...We could protect them all, if something else happens. If someone comes along, and decides to pick up where the goose left off." Envy spoke carefully, but their voice held a note of sincere excitement. It was, perhaps, if Pride were to look into their mind, for some of the wrong reasons; but the passion was there, and it was genuine. They were excited by the prospect of having others like Pride who truly, utterly respected them as a King. Excited to garner that respect from all corners of the cave; and, if they managed to do some good whilst they were at it, then... that would also be nice.

They grinned as Pride speculated on wearing matching armour, or tattoos; something that would distinguish their ranks, placing them above and beyond all others in the cave. They had always secretly (or in some cases, not so secretly) envied the armour that Pride wore. It was beautiful, and only highlighted the pure whiteness of his coat, the power in his limbs.

They nodded vigorously.

As Pride spoke of using a bird, though, they stopped to think. Of the Seven, there had been a few. Lust had recently left, so she wasn't an option. There had been the little crow that had set itself on fire, however Envy hadn't seen that one in a fair few cycles. "I haven't seen any birds for a time," they finally admitted, with reluctance. "Save for Lust and the crow, but... Both are gone now." They couldn't help a note of sourness entering their tone as they spoke of Lust.

At the idea of making Charity something else; a general, Envy felt a shudder of tenseness run through them. That implied she'd be on the front lines, putting herself in danger. And moreover, it meant leaving their side, and, by extension, leaving Orion. They felt their breaths catch, worry building for a few moments. Then, finally, they spoke. It was all just an idea, for now. "Perhaps."

Speech. Thought.

@Pride