Open!

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

Characters: Terezi Pyrope and all of you!
Setting: Dormitory hallways
Format: Prose to start, but I'll match!
Summary: Terezi's just arrived after a pretty traumatic event back in the Veil.
Warnings: Nope!


Terezi had scoured the room she'd woken up in for some sort of clue as to where she was, and had only found a letter. If that letter was telling the truth, she thought it was pretty ridiculous that whoever was in charge was saving her now, when Alternia was already largely barren and lifeless.

So she wandered out of the room into the hallway, sniffing carefully as she went. Nothing like the Veil, of course. Everything is too clean and bright and sugary. There was still blue blood, bright as paint, on her that she couldn't manage to scrub off, and so she'd left it. If this was some sort of trick, she just hoped everyone back in the Veil was safe.

Comments

[romcomedian.livejournal.com]

[Too much was happening at once for Karkat.

The white he had arrived in had been swapped for his black suit -- which unfortunately, was still stained magenta from events shortly prior. Seeing the shade again wasn't a reminder he was particularly thankful for. On top of all this, bodies were strewn about all over the place and he kept hearing voices. Voices of people who should have been gone: Feferi's once contagious giggling now dead and hollow, Sollux's last words, Terezi's maniacal laughter--

And there she was again, down the hall. But...what was she wearing--

And what the fuck is that on her outfit?

Karkat freezes down the hallway, pupils shrunk in fear and disbelief. What kind of nightmarish place was this?]

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

[Terezi turns her head in the direction of Karkat's scent, face lighting up immediately. She doesn't catch that something is slightly off. She assumes the slight hint of blueberries is just Vriska's blood on her clothes. She closes the distance between them quickly and hugs him tight.

Jegus, he was being such a jerk earlier, but she's so, so glad he's okay.]

[romcomedian.livejournal.com]

[He can't help his reaction -- that was blood on her, nobody would know his blood better than he, after all. So when Terezi wraps her arms around him, he instantly pulls his arms up before she can pin them and tries to wriggle away.]

What the fuck, what the fuck--haha, ok, very funny! Time to wake up now! Like, right the fuck now!

And by very funny, I mean oh my fucking god this isn't the least bit funny. I have to be dreaming, right? Haha, whoops! Falling asleep, awesome idea, let me tell you--

[He dissolves into half-crazed muttering, still trying to wiggle free from Terezi...because he's still a wimp.]

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

[There is no possible way she can know the real reason why he's freaking out, though the closer she gets, the stronger that blueberry scent becomes. Is he angry because she killed Vriska? She had no choice, it was clearly just, and even if it hadn't been she was saving them all.

Right?

She steps back, looking confused and almost hurt.]

What are you...

[Nope he's still babbling. She cannot handle this right now.]

Just shut up for a second! Jegus.

[romcomedian.livejournal.com]

Whatever it is, I'm sorry, ok?

[He takes a step back, staring at the blue on her for a moment before looking up to meet her eyes again. Terror radiates off him like a musk, though he's struggling to calm his breathing enough to speak.]

Just don't kill me. Please just don't fucking kill me.

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

[She's struck dumb by that, and by his blatant panic. She takes a small step back. Something like regret curls in her belly as her hands drop to her sides.]

Karkat, what is wrong with you?

[romcomedian.livejournal.com]

[Well, if this is a dream, he may as well humor her, right? (She sounds strangely lucid for Terezi anyway, as far as he knows)]

Let me tell you about watching your friends get shredded to pieces by the rest of your friends. Then let me tell you about killing another one of them who, hey, maybe you actually really kind of liked, before he killed everyone else.

Theeeeeeeen let me tell you about coming to this FREAKY ASS TOWER where you keep hearing them and--

[He has to stop to catch his breath, yanking on his own horns to try and get a hold of himself.]

--and then you come over here covered in my blood and--jegus fuck, I must be shithive maggots. Or dead. Or something.

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

[She shakes her head, covering her face as she takes a deep breath. This is fucked up. So fucked up. Karkat killed someone too? But...

And then she hears the blood comment, and her hands drop again.]

Your blood? What? Maybe you are shithive maggots. I have no idea what you are talking about!

[romcomedian.livejournal.com]

How the fuck do you not know--it's all over you!

[He digs his nails into the back of his hand, not enough to pierce, but enough to bring small halfmoons of blue to the gray surface of his skin. Sure, Terezi can't see, but he knows she can smell it.

The action actually settles him enough to stop hyperventilating, but he's not in a hurry to approach the girl across from her.]

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

[That's enough to get her attention. She raises her head, sniffing audibly. Blueberry. Like Vriska. Exactly like Vriska. She frowns in confusion, then steps forward quickly and snatches his hand from his side. Before he can yank it away, she licks his palm and the bruises there.

There's no mistaking it. His blood is most definitely blue.]

[romcomedian.livejournal.com]

[A shiver runs down his spine, spawned from a multitude of emotions (mostly fear), but a part of him had been expecting it. There will be an attempt to yank it back after he curls the hand to a fist.]

Don't try your mindgame shit on me, ok? Not now. I just can't--

[He takes another deep breath and shakes his head to try and clear it. Calm down, Karkat. Time to calm down now BUT FUCK, ITS SO HARD TO DO????]

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

[She drops his hand and steps back, staring at him incredulously. What does she even say?]

You're not red.

[A+ observation, Pyrope. She shakes her head.]

What the fuck is going on?

[romcomedian.livejournal.com]

[That's so out of the blue that it actually disrupts his train of thought enough for him to stare at her.]

Why the fuck would I be red?

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

[Her eyes narrow and she crosses her arms.]

Why the fuck would I kill you?

[Shaking her head now!]

You're red. You've always been red. I don't... I don't understand.

[being-strong.livejournal.com]

Equius hadn't been safe in the slightest back in the Veil, but he was already recovering from the incident with Gamzee quite admirably, in his opinion. Just as one would expect from nobility such as himself.

He paused in the hallway at the too-familiar sound of a tapping cane. There was the tealblood, curious as ever about the world around her and sniffing her way toward him. He stopped, arms folded, and considered her for a moment. Hadn't Karkat said something about her going missing? Had she gotten herself murdered by rampaging highbloods as well?

The cerulean staining her clothes certainly wasn't a very good sign.

"Terezi?"

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

Terezi turns her head towards Equius, frowning as she caught his scent. He was dead. He was definitely dead. She'd seen his body and everything, but here he is, standing there good as new.

"Equius?" This made no sense. She made another halfhearted attempt to rub Vriska's blood from her gloves as she approached. "What are you doing here?"

[being-strong.livejournal.com]

He watched her rub at the blood, disapproval written all over his face. To shed the exquisite blood of her betters, even as a higherblood herself... such unrepentant scandal. He could already tell he would need several fresh towels before the end of this conversation. Thankfully he'd stored one in his sylladex.

"I could ask the same of you. I seem to have been given some sort of reprieve, but not everyone arrived the way I did."

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

"A reprieve?" Oh god, he was going to start sweating any minute, wasn't he? She tilted her head and leaned forward onto her cane. "I just woke up here! Maaaybe you can fill me in!"

[being-strong.livejournal.com]

Any minute? He was sweating already. Not heavily enough to need drying utilities, but getting there.

"Very well. To the best of my knowledge, while Nepeta and I were discussing concerns elsewhere, some of our comrades began rampaging in an exceptionally murderous fashion. It was quite becoming of them, really."

And that was when he reached the towel-needing point. He retrieved one and patted down his forehead.

"That filthblood Vantas asked me to do something about it. I... investigated, but ultimately, I was unsuccessful. He was looking for you, as well."

He paused, eyeing the blood on her clothes.

"What did you get yourself into?"

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

She frowned at the filthblood comment, planting a hand on her hip. So, Vriska had been telling the truth about the others. "Who was it? The ones rampaging." She was still trying to wrap her head around that Gamzee comment of Vriska's. She couldn't quite do it.

"Vriska was out of control. I... Took care of her." Despite her brave face, it was probably clear that Terezi was still a bit uncomfortable with this turn of events.

[being-strong.livejournal.com]

He would have used a stronger word than "filth" if he were the swearing type. For the moment, however, they were equals in discomfort. So much to sort through, so many conflicting feelings.

"My understanding was that Vriska was one of them, at least until you found her, evidently. Eridan, unsurprisingly, was another. Gamzee was the third."

Pat, pat. Squish. Stupid towel and its stupid ability to only hold so much liquid.

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

She curled her lip in disgust. Eridan didn't surprise her too much. The fact that Vriska had only killed Tavros did. She shifted uncomfortably for a moment, dropping her gaze downward. She'd been so focused on Vriska that she'd missed the other threats. It was stupid and narrow minded of her. A rookie's mistake.

"And what about this place?"

[being-strong.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, Equius didn't place any blame on Terezi. Highbloods did as they always did, and he was not worthy of questioning their motives.

Right?

"It's a tower with several levels to it and no egress. You'll find all sorts of oddities, like a forest and such, if you explore enough."

A delicate pause.

"Vriska is here as well. From the way she spoke, I don't believe she knows what you're about to do, from her perspective."

[foretolds.livejournal.com]

"I see." Vriska again, and after she'd thought she'd solved their problem permanently. For the moment, though, the tower was her primary concern. She worried at her bottom lip with sharp teeth for a second. "Any others? Sollux? Kanaya?"

Karkat?

[being-strong.livejournal.com]

If Equius was aware of her feelings, he'd have so much disapproval. All of it, basically.

"I've spoken to Feferi, Tavros, and Karkat, Sollux is here, and I believe Kanaya is as well. This situation is far from ideal, and evidently it's possible for us to have clashes with alternate timelines or even alternate realities. It's all highly irregular."

And still better than the Veil.