towerofanimus | Cripplekat: Attempt to clim8 stairs.

Characters:

romcomedian and YOU
Setting: The Stairwell
Format: I'll match.
Summary: Karkat is fucking tired of laying around in bed after nearly a month -- not quite fully healed, he's venturing out to try and get to the library. And its taking a longass time.
Warnings: Usual Bluekat warnings.

Karkat extremely done with being pinned to a hospital bed feeling like shit. Thankfully, the horrible paranoia finally subsided long enough for him to pull himself forcefully out of his bed to wander out of the infirmary. Every one of his limbs was extremely stiff, as he hadn't gotten out of bed without help since his arrival. Now he knows why.

Cripple or not, Karkat has an image to keep. He's not going to take the time to shrug his dress shirt on, but he pulls his jacket off the coat rack to cover up the bandages still wrapped around his torso. His arm remained in the cast, but the sling had been disposed of a few days ago.

There was no way to fix his hair, so his hand would have to do until he could locate a fucking comb or something. At least he didn't look like a complete frump. At least not until he started to try and climb the stairs. He would only reach the next floor up before he started to run out of breath.

Stupid spiderbitch and her stupid problems fucking up his physical health.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm sure. It's never easy being trapped in one place." And she knew that from personal experience, too. Funny enough, it tied in well to what was, in fact, 'eating her'. The thought of being trapped cemented her decision not to suggest that he go back to bed; she knew what it was like, and she wasn't about to try to make him stay somewhere if he didn't want to. He could take care of himself, couldn't he?

The question seemed to make her uncomfortable, and she opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again before glancing at the ground, starting to shrug, then stopping, her shoulder returning to a slightly higher position than they'd previously been. "It's complicated." At least, parts of it were, and really, she never did feel comfortable talking about her problems. And yet... maybe it would help. A moment more's hesitation, and, "I guess you could say I'm still recovering from the experiment. I was in group 'D', if that means anything."

Karkat watched her expression change -- anyone else might've missed those subtle hints of discomfort and other such things, but as Karkat was a man who dealt in matters of the heart, he was very in tune to such things. His shoulders roll a bit, trying to shrug off the stiffness in his limbs.

"I don't much know what group had to do with what, but I guess I get you," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Did that mean he had to supply his group as well? "I went through it too. Group B, though."

She tilted her head slightly, considering this. It was certainly useful information, since perhaps by asking him about his situation she would be able to make certain of what she'd already thought about the effects of being in group B. It may have seemed a tiny bit off topic, but it was in fact entirely relevant to her answer to his original question.

"I know some people who were in group B. Did you get really suspicious of everyone?" That had seemed to be the common theme among them, anyway.

"Yeah. Felt like everyone was out to kill me," Karkat muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Pretty stupid. Couldn't fucking stop it. Even people I knew wouldn't dare do shit like that."

He didn't bother mentioning how shitty it felt. That went without saying.

"Yes. That's how it was for them, too. One of them managed to keep herself together, but it seemed like it was hard." She could surmise the unpleasantness of the situation, yes, and her own expression was accordingly sympathetic. "I'm sorry. I know it wasn't much fun." So to speak, anyway. Naminé's assumption had apparently been correct, although it didn't do all that much to make her feel better about the situation that the paranoia inflicted on group B had caused with a certain... almost-friend? Former-almost-friend? ~~She also took note of the mention of the people he knew with an 'even' in front, but said nothing about it.~~

"I was lucky enough to not have to go through that. Instead, my-- I don't know if everyone in my group got the same thing, but for me it was... hopelessness."

"And I'm supposed to believe you were totally ok with that," the troll replied sarcastically, folding his arms a bit awkwardly. It was almost impossible to do it comfortably with the cast, but he was doing it for effect and not for comfort. She earned herself a Look with that statement.

"Its not like hopelessness is any better than fuckin' paranoia," Karkat drawled, tilting his head to the side. "That must've been pretty shitty."

She did have the decency to look sheepish. Congratulations, Karkat, your efforts were not for nothing. "Well, no, it's not that I was okay with it, I just meant-- it was better, because at least I didn't have to worry about not trusting the people who meant the most to me." It was kind of a sentimental thing to say, yes, but she meant it. "...Or hurting them because of that." Of course, she'd had her own issues with rather concerning thoughts about surgical victims, but that had been more out of mercy than fear. Ironically, despite the genuine nature of her statement, it was actually more sympathetic than personal; there were people she cared about, yes, and in a way she did trust them, but at the same time it was easy for her to imagine that they wouldn't want her around anymore if they really knew what she'd done, what she really was and what that meant. It said more about her self-esteem than it did about her perception of them. But if she'd been capable of having real, true friends, of having relationships that beautiful, she'd have been heartbroken (hah, hah) to have them so horribly twisted by paranoia.

"Yeah. Guess it was a blessing to be strapped down all that time," Karkat replied with a bit of a scoff, eyelids lowering in an almost mischievous fashion. "Not that I would've been a threat to anyone or anything." Of course, the statement was only a half truth. Karkat was always dangerous, though he rarely had cause to exhibit such behavior.

"Maybe so." Better to look on the bright side, right? Even if the idea of being strapped down was not at all appealing in any light that came to mind. That expression of his elicited no obvious response besides a slight headtilt, but it did make her half wonder if there was some joke she'd missed. As for that second bit, she smiled faintly as she added an, "Except to yourself." It's both at least partially true and her own attempt at a joke. ~~Teasing people is clearly the way people joke every time, this is fact. ...Kairi's kind of a bad influence.~~

"Yikes, low blow," Karkat replied, feigning pain in his chest for a moment before straightening to that smug posture he was so good at keeping. He tossed a wink in her direction before returning to a neutral expression.

"Anyway, I'm fine now. Mostly."

Fortunately unconvinced by his feigned discomfort and thoughts confirmed by the wink, she failed to look at all repentant. And even though she wasn't so convinced about him being 'fine', especially after seeing that little incident before, she only smiled a private smile and said, "I'm glad to hear that." Surely he'd survive without being called out.

Cripplekat: Attempt to clim8 stairs.

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