Journey to the Trinity Tree

How ironic, that Envy would be acting as a champion for a goddess, when  she herself paraded around pretending to be one to maintain power within  the Graveyard of Gods. She could only imagine how Pride would react had  he been the one to crossover only to find that his sentiments about it  being a portal to the realm of the gods was much more accurate than he  likely thought it to be. No doubt the tom would have floundered in  finding a way to spin this to his advantage, and Envy wishes she could  have been able to see that scenario play out.

But the golden  she-cat didn't have time to dwell on the various amusing scenarios her  brain concocted of how Pride might handle being face to face with an  actual god. There was an army coming, and something told Envy that would  be a lot harder to fight with her words than with her claws, though  even that thought seemed daunting, to say the least. Envy had no qualms  with selfishly trying to find a way to avoid going into the fray  herself, leaving the actual fighting to those who wished to risk their  lives for the goddess in the tree while she would worm her way into a  position that was more strategic. Whether that be by actually presenting  herself as a strategist for the war, helping to plan their side's  attempts to battle, or by simply finding the safest place in the fight  without fleeing like a complete coward (she was, after all, not Pride,  who would no doubt have given a rousing speech about bravery and  sacrifice for the good of the whole before disappearing to go cower  somewhere while everyone else fought) so that she could fight with the  lowest chance of being hurt.

After all, she needed to go back  home after this, just so she could wipe the smug look off of Pride's  face when he saw Envy return (relatively) unscathed. It would be even  more satisfying if it was after he told the rest of their group that she  had died (because she was under no delusions that he would not do so if  she did not return quickly). Granted, it could potentially jeopardize  her just as much as it would jeopardize Pride and the other two she-cats  carrying the title of God, but it would be worth it to see Pride  squirm. Besides, the charlatan would no doubt find some way to worm out  of it; if anything, he would pronounce it a miracle, or perhaps proclaim  that Envy must have chosen to regain her mortal form instead of  ascending back to her status of godhood upon death.

Before she  could think about that personal victory, however, Envy needed to focus  on the victory over the apparent "army of decay" that was coming. She  knew there was a library where she could no doubt find records that at  least contained some references to the army, and Envy would definitely  check there sooner or later, but before she turned her attention there,  the fluffy feline fully intended to take advantage of examining the new  world she was being released into. The underground city was expansive,  captivating, and no doubt full of secrets for Envy to uncover; she could  only imagine the dirt she could uncover, and in the process, she was  certain she would be able to ascertain details about the incoming army.  Sometimes, residents and their perspectives, no matter how biased they  were, could offer much more insight than a dusty old tome in a forgotten  library ever could.

Especially when you knew just what buttons to press to draw that information out.

To  say Kina was overwhelmed with the scale of the world on the other side  of the portal would be an understatement. The second youngest of the  Isle of Roses' Heirs was floored by both the number of felines flooding  through portals not unlike the one she had just come through (only to  see it blink out of existence behind her, a statement to the current  permanence of her choice to come through as the Isle's Champion) and by  the world that they had all entered into. It was magnificent, and Kina  couldn't help looking back and forth at it with wide eyes, trying to  soak in every sight and sound. The tree alone was a beautifully humbling  sight, but when it opened to reveal the city below, the blue-eyed  lioness was truly flabbergasted.

She knew that she ought to be  working to prepare for the oncoming onslaught, but when she first exited  the tunnel and stepped into the city, Kina could not help spending the  first bit of time simply exploring like a child who had gone to a candy  store for the first time. She had never seen anything quite like it  before, and she was fascinated with learning about every facet of the  world. It took more effort than she cared to admit to wrench herself  away from exploring so that Kina could focus on determining a plan of action.

Obviously Kina needed to prepare for the incoming army.  Not for the first time since her arrival, she felt a stab of guilt over  sneaking through the portal and bypassing whatever decision Nasaba would  have made over who was to go through, despite still feeling the  thrumming in her veins telling her that she was the one meant to be  there. After all, when the scope of the reason why the portals had  opened was revealed, Kina couldn't help feeling small and woefully under  qualified. Maybe she ought to have allowed someone else to go.

But  it was too late to dwell on whether or not she made the right decision.  Kina had no way to undo it, so she could only do her best moving forward.

There were plenty of options on what she could do, and  Kina didn't even know where to begin. She felt like she needed to learn  everything to make up for her inadequacies. She should learn how to tend  to the wounded, learn as much about the incoming army (and the goddess  who had summoned them, and the city they were now spending their time  in) as she could, and learn the best methods for fighting (a thought  that had come to her when she saw a large, gray lion with a pale,  braided mane putting on armor to - presumably - go and spar). With so  much to do, the lioness wasn't sure how she would decide what she should start with, let alone go about doing it all, but she would do her best.

Kina had taken her fate into her own paws, and she wasn't about to just squander the chance she had made to prove herself.