"Dig a hole." The large figure panted over the tons of rocks his hands were pulling. Every inch of his form was aching from non-stop work.
"What a pain." A snort and the furious rattling of chains sounded and echoed, sounded and echoed. It was the same noise he had been hearing for half an eternity. It confused him; namely the concept of his father setting the physical embodiment of lethargy to do all of the hard labour. All he wanted to do was sleep, but that much seemed to be out of his grasp. He deserved a rest some time, didn't he? Was that so much for him to ask?
Darkness tunnelled further around him, and cerise eyes glinted and observed.
"Such a pain… Digging… is… a pain. Orders are… a pain…" He heard Pride sigh, the collection of teeth scraping against each other impatiently.
"Sloth, the Promise Day is soon. You can rest then."
Sloth cocked his head and groaned, fingers latching onto the stone and pulling, and pulling. At the silence, he noticed Pride become still and bored. He knew- he could predict the oncoming boast. It was pretty much all his brother lead conversations with.
"If I were doing your job, I would have had it done by now. …But then again, I suppose you are still more efficient than those pathetic humans."
Sloth grunted, hunching with his work, and silently contemplating the older Homunculi's words. Would Pride really have done it faster, and more efficiently? It wasn't as though he was slacking off himself. He was trying as hard as he could, after all.
"But I already have my job and it is more important than yours. Far more important. Who else would stop those pathetic humans?"
Wrath… Envy... Lust…,Sloth thought to himself, noting that saying such aloud would simply be too troublesome for his liking. It was annoying that Pride felt the need to boast to him. Perhaps Envy would have been a better candidate. Pride would probably find that to be a more stimulating conversation. After all, Pride was going on relentlessly about how much better than everybody else he was, and Envy would light up like a flame in reaction to it. It would be perfect for the older Homunculi.
"…Sloth?"
The large being groaned in response, an oily wig of hair dropping over his face and whipping against the sides of his well-defined cheeks.
"…Yes, …Pride?" His ridiculously deep voice made the stones beneath them rumble. For once, the mood changed, and the expression within the eyes and teeth displayed nothing but certain calmness.
"You're doing a good job."
Sloth stopped, a bulky finger lifting to his chin. He scratched, partially confused, partially interested. Had anybody complimented him before? Usually he was just rubbed off as unintelligent. Somewhat in the same league as Gluttony. A warm, intense feeling welled up inside, and that moment, he stood a little taller and nodded, going back to his work.
A compliment from Pride was a rare treasure. He felt urged to say thank you, but he couldn't find himself bothered enough to open his mouth.
Thanking people was such a pain, after all.