Journey to the Trinity Tree

Envy had two goals for her time in the world on the other side of the portal, both of which she felt like were logical and fair for her to have while she was playing as a champion for a goddess in a tree.

Firstly, Envy intended to do whatever she could (within reason) to try and fight against the oncoming army of decay, as she was pretty sure the champions were calling them. She would help plan, she would fight (not in the middle of things, but maybe on the outskirts of the battlefield, against the weak dregs of the army, or, if they found a way, from a distance, where there was no risk of Envy getting killed in the battle), and she would try to gather as much information as she could.

But the second goal trumped any others, including the first goal. And that second goal was to not die, because if Envy died (or even got grievously injured), she would have a very hard time going back and proving Pride wrong, and Envy was determined to see Pride's face fall as she triumphantly returned. Everything she did while she was through the portal, every move she made, was calculated around the risk of death that came with it. She wasn't going to do anything that risked her failing to accomplish that second goal, even if it meant that her first goal would not be accomplished. That one was completely unimportant in comparison to the goal of staying alive, not even just because she wanted to spite Pride, but also because Envy simply was not ready to die.

All of that boiled down to one simple sentiment in Envy's mind when she found her head turning to face the entrance of the city and a thrumming building up inside her, a call in her ears urging her to follow many of the other champions out of the city and to who knows where in the strange world: no way.

Envy didn't care that the call seemed good. She didn't care that many of the other champions seemed to be adhering to the call, which was really a glorified feeling that seemed very intent on luring them outside of the city that they knew to be safe (for the most part). She didn't even care that her not going might mean that the goddess died or something else equally as ridiculous (because seriously, why should her decision not go impact whether or not the goddess died, when it seemed like hundreds of other champions were going to follow it and find out what it was about? One measly golden she-cat, however amazing she may be, shouldn't change that).

Envy was not going to risk her life by exiting the city and chance facing off against who knows what simply because she experienced some weird feeling alongside everyone else that suggested they leave the safety of the underground city beneath the tree encasing the goddess. Nothing sounded like a better deal than an underground city beneath a tree that encased a goddess. Envy was not going to be swayed on that matter.

So, with a dramatic huff, she pulled her head away from watching the mass exodus of champions out the entrance of the city (though, if she was being honest, not as many went as she was expecting, which, if anything, only solidified her feelings on the decision she made to remain), and Envy ignored the way her paws itched to follow after everyone else as she walked deeper into the city. She was fully intent on outlasting this feeling in her gut, and she would do it gladly.

There was a thrumming in her veins that Kina could not ignore. It came out of nowhere in the afternoon, the day after the attack, and it was calling her, a low pounding inside of her (though not an uncomfortable one, just a beating alongside her heart that she couldn't control or quiet) that was begging her to follow it. But where did it want her to follow it too? Kina didn't know, but she felt it tugging at her eyes, at her paws, at her heart, urging her to go to the city's entrance, to venture beyond what she already knew (in the vaguest of senses) in this world and go to where it called her.

She wasn't positive, but the lioness could swear that the call was not all that different from the one that had convinced her to go through the portal in the first place, the one that had led her to go behind her pridemates' backs and against what her father's decision probably would have been (and against his instructions to stay away from the portal) because she just felt that she was meant to be the champion representing the Isle of Roses. If she trusted that call then, she would trust this one now.

As she slowly crept towards the entrance of the city, hesitant as she tried to ignore the part of her brain that nagged her to stay where she knew she was safe, Kina stumbled directly into another lion.

"Oh, I'm so sor-" she cut herself off as she looked up to meet the lion's eyes.

They glowed like embers against his dark fur, and were distinct enough that she recognized them even without initially noticing the pale gold mane framing his face. This was the lion that had helped her during the fight the other day, the one who she had inadvertently caused to get injured: Cole. Immediately, she ducked her head in embarrassment, paw nervously scraping at the ground.

After a moment of silence, Kina looked up to see Cole offering her a gentle smile, tilting his head to the side as if he was examining her. He didn't look mad, but Kina still felt bad; in fact, if anything, the fact that he didn't seem mad just made her feel even worse. At least if he was mad at her, Kina could feel a bit less guilty, because if someone got mad at you for bumping into them on accident, especially at night, they weren't a good person, because you can't really blame someone for bumping you. However, he didn't seem to blame her at all, even offering a mumbled comment that she was fairly certain was him taking the blame himself and saying he should have been watching where he was going, and that frustrated her.