007.

[gloomyapoplectic]

Characters: [AU1] Kanaya Maryam and you!
Setting: Floor 48, the graveyard floor, forward-dated to Dec. 2nd
Format: Starting action, but I'll change to match you! c:
Summary: Kanaya has some friends to say good-bye to.
Warnings: Language and mentions of character death. Par for the course with a Homestuck in Animus.

[Snow has already begun to fall and accumulate on the ground on this floor by the time Kanaya begins her journey through it. She's bundled -- or as bundled as she can be, with bits of her Hemobiologist garb slapped on underneath her usual coat and skirt.

The way her ratty cape flutters at her neck, she almost feels like she's back in her Land.

Kanaya's time here is divided and devoted to a handful of the graves. At some, she pens a message in the snow with her claw, to the best of her ability. To the Signless and the Dolorosa: Thank You. To the very first nullblood Karkat that she met: I Hope Youre Safe. To the Feferi of her universe: I Wish It Had Happened Differently.

On others, she leaves tokens. A simple swatch of bright red cloth for the alpha Terezi. A square of jade with her symbol embroidered messily on it for the alpha Kanaya. She has no offering for the alpha Vriska, but she does not have words, either. She instead settles for a crude representation of a spider in the snow.

A visitor could find her at any one of these graves. Or, most likely, they could find her at the last grave she will visit, kneeling silently before the more recent headstone of one brown-blooded Vriska Serket with not a word or a token to her name.]

Comments

[caliginous]

[When Kanaya rounds the corner, she'll find a fairly familiar face deep in contemplation by a certain grave. His hands are stuffed in his pockets and the grave is clear and empty, ignoring the footprints surrounding it.

Judging by the way that Karkat's shoulders quiver, he's been standing by Terezi's grave for quite some time. There's a small collection of snow between his horns and on his shoulders, which doesn't help the overall dishelved look he's currently sporting. Someone obviously had some trouble getting up to this floor.

Its difficult to read the expression on his face. The majority of it reads neutral, but every now and then some pain will flicker across his features whenever he blinks. He doesn't seem to notice Kanaya, or if he does he doesn't say so. Instead, he reaches over to brush snow off the top of the grave absently.]

[gloomyapoplectic]

[Kanaya stops dead when she sees Karkat. She's a safe enough distance away that she's pretty sure she didn't disturb him.

She takes in the scene -- she doesn't really need to look to know whose grave he's standing at, but her gaze flickers to it regardless. Kanaya isn't the most observant, but she looks long enough to figure out that Karkat has been there for a while.

She bites her lip and watches in silence for a few moments. When it starts to feel intrusive, she takes a few steps towards him, in the hopes that her footfalls will announce her presence without her having to say anything.

Because, really, what can she say?]

[caliginous]

[Karkat doesn't look up until Kanaya is close enough for normal conversation. He lifts his hand from the grave and rolls the snow off his shoulders. The snow on his head falls off when he turns to look at her through his half lidded eyes.

He doesn't say anything right off, but he turns away from the grave long enough to establish that the moment has passed, for the moment.

Karkat says nothing -- they seemed to both be in the same boat. They had lived in the tower too long by now -- seen to many people come and go, some of them too important to simply leave behind.]

[gloomyapoplectic]

[She notes that the accumulated snow falls away when he moves. She tentatively reaches up to brush a hand over his hair anyway.

Kanaya keeps eye contact with him for a moment; long enough to be reminded of just how long Karkat has been here. How many others he's probably lost, even before she came.

When she finally looks away, it's to train her eyes down as she raises a hand to undo her cape.]

[caliginous]

[He reaches up to stop her by placing a hand over hers -- its frozen solid, but he doesn't seem to care. After all, Karkat never looks for charity.]

What brought you up here?

[gloomyapoplectic]

[She meets his eyes again, but it's brief, as the answer to that question isn't really one she wants to look him in the eye for.

She eventually moves so that his hand rests between both of hers.]

Vriska is gone.

[caliginous]

[He doesn't smile, nor does he bother with the "I told you so"s. Instead, he simply allows her to mess with his hand freely, its cold and cracked exterior immediately soaking the warmth offered. That was the nice thing about lowbloods -- they were always so much warmer.

There's no words of encouragement from Karkat -- after all, he hadn't seen Terezi in almost a year. He had plenty of time to move on and was glad for it, but reminders never helped the process along. He imagined the same would be for Kanaya.

Subtly, he pulls his hand back toward himself, offering the barest of grips to invite her closer without actually tugging her. If she doesn't follow, he will simply take his hand back.]

[gloomyapoplectic]

[Kanaya takes him up on that invitation like moirallegiance is going out of style, shifting forward to lean against him and make herself comfortable in his personal space. Her shoulders shake as she draws a deep breath of the sharp winter air and hides her face in the space between Karkat's tie and his lapel.

She doesn't want to cry. She's so sick of crying.

The chill that Karkat has earned himself from standing out here for so long is evident even through his suit. Kanaya wishes he'd just take the stupid cape. It's not like it's that warm, and it's definitely not stylish enough for Karkat, but it would make her feel better about being too short to effectively fight the cold.]

[caliginous]

[He won't take it. His pride simply wouldn't allow for it, not to mention the fact that some masochistic part of him was enjoying the numbing sensation. What little body heat Kanaya was providing was enough for him.]

Probably for the best.

[He wraps one arm around her a bit stiffly, but whether that's due to emotion or the cold air is anyone's guess. He's not looking down at Kanaya, focused on the rows of headstones. It was still such a foreign concept, the idea of burying the dead, yet here they were. Even trolls, who lacked the tradition entirely, each had their own marker. He had stopped by the cerulean Vriska's for a few minutes.

He missed her too, in ways he wasn't quite sure how to articulate.]

But I guess all that talk about this poor excuse for purgatory was true.