vatheon | Got something eating away at me

Entry tags:

Got something eating away at me

Who: Gamzee, Karkat and Serph.
Where: Karkat's
When: Backdated to monday, after being told about the cannibalism.
Status: Closed
Style: [brackets forever]

[Normally meeting someone new didn't go like this. Gamzee had finally gotten to meet Cielo's bros, even while in his totally cool new human body, but what news they had given him had quickly taken the mirth out of the whole deal. Now he is walking back to Karkat's hive, his shoulders tense, his hands curling and uncurling at his sides and with Serph at his back like an extra silent shadow.

It's almost like some bad joke: this body what is at the whole motherfuckin' cause of it is also what is helping him in this situation; without the wild moodswings so typical for his blood, he's far more capable of dealing with the whole situation. Or at least long enough until they get to Karkat. Which is not nearly quick enough.

Still it was fuckin' shit-hive maggots the way these motherfuckers thought they could make him do that. He wouldn't. He had culled enough already. He wasn't going to add to it. Karkat would figure out a way to keep him cool. Karkat always did that. And to think they had thought they could just tell him not to tell Karkat. Keeping secrets only lost you moirails, he knew that, and while he usually was all to happy to go along with what other people wanted him to do, in this case he simply cared about Karkat far more than he cared about their predicament.

Finally they arrive at Karkat's place, and Gamzee quickly lifts a hand to ring the bell and then to knock on the door for good measure. He really hopes Karkat is here. He doesn't know what to do if he isn't.]

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[This curse is troubling for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest is definitely the number of people who gained an Atma during it. It's almost funny, when he's lost his own.

He had agreed to come with Gamzee and help explain things. If Gamzee doesn't want to keep things secret from his friend, fine, Serph can understand that. He's fine with letting people know, and he's considering letting others know; with more and more of his Tribe arriving, it's getting more difficult to keep their hunting secret. But for now, he wants to minimise panic and kneejerk reactions that could easily damage his Tribe's relationship with the residents of Vatheon.

They want peace, after all.

When they arrive, Serph patiently waits beside Gamzee. He's dressed in the same strange clothing as Gamzee, but unlike Gamzee, Serph has a large streak of orange across the chest of his jacket. The tattoo that's usually on his face is missing.]

[Karkat's day has been relatively simple, by comparison. The biggest change is that he's human, which is easy next to what happened to him last time: he was a pegasus pony then. Cutie mark and everything. May it suffice to say that his feelings were mixed. But this time, he has yet to find anything unnatural about himself, barring the points to his teeth he's somehow kept.]

[That's why when the doorbell-door knock combo occurs, it's not anything important that his attention is pulled from. Network stuff, mostly, as he's checked periodically throughout the day. And of course, it explains his appearance when he answers. He doesn't even look that different on the whole: pale human skin, though not unusually so, same black hair and grey irises, just white sclerae, no horns, and maybe a few miscellaneous features here and there. His ears are rounded, for one, but who cares?]

[It takes him a little longer to place the first guy outside his door. The pattern of freckles is vaguely familiar, but that hair--oh. Indigo. The rest clicks in place thereafter, though any relief of recognition is minimized by the look on his moirail's face. This other guy must have something to do with it if Gamzee brought him here; Curse or no, he has no recognition of him.]

What's going on?

Got some shit to tell you.

[Gamzee vaguely motions towards Serph, indicating that he will be doing the majority of the talking. Or he'd better be. Gamzee is still way too mixed up about what he was told to try and tell it in a sensible manner.

Also he just kinda wants a hug.]

[...Hm. There's something about the guy who answers the door that seems vaguely familiar. Serph can't quite place where, though, so he brushes it from his mind in favour of more pressing matters.

He gives a nod in greeting.]

It will be better to talk inside.

[It's not a conversation to have out in the open.]

[It's not the most surprising to hear, the way things look, but still concerning. It's enough to kill a good bit of his usual attitude. Karkat nods and steps aside, pulling the door open wider that the two may pass through.]

Then come in. And who are you, for that matter?

[He looks to Serph pointedly. Who he is may not be the main issue at hand, but if he's letting the guy into his hive, he wants to know.]

[Gamzee slips inside, leaning into Karkat's body as he passes him. He's already heading towards the living room. He figured that is where they are gonna end up anyway, might as well head on through already. He comes to a pause though, glancing back at Karkat.]

Eridan here, brother?

[Cause Serph had only agreed to telling Karkat.]

Serph, leader of the Embryon.

[It seems more appropriate to introduce himself this way, rather than as one of the Defense Force leaders. Serph's gaze goes to Gamzee's retreating back before returning to Karkat.]

Gamzee's current powers come from our world.

[Serph steps inside, but doesn't follow Gamzee further in; he'll follow Karkat's lead and only go to the areas he allows Serph access to.]

[Karkat would offer more comfort, were Serph not here too, but it can wait a bit for the sake of just hearing what's going on. He closes the door behind, and motioning Serph to follow, heads into the living room as well.]

No, Eridan's out, and by that grace are we spared the mutual embarrassment of having to see what happened to him this week.

[Prince outfits are not flattering, okay.]

But I'm going to go out on a wild limb and pluck a guess from its branches - [And mangle a metaphor along the way.] - and say that's what the trouble is now. Sit down, explain shit, and we'll figure out whatever is happening.

[Another motion indicates the couch, while he seats himself in a chair.]

[At least it doesn't have a codpiece.

Rather than sink down on the couch next to Serph --and lets be fair, there is plenty of space-- he sinks down on the floor next to Karkat's chair, leaning his head against his knee. He gets it. Karkat can get pretty cagey about being affectionate when it is just the two of them. He's not expecting him to be all hugs with Serph there. But staying next to him at the very least, leaning his head against one of his knees, provides a little comfort.

He glances up at Serph from where he sits, before shrugging a little.]

You say it, motherfucker. You got more knowing on how to be explaining this shit than me.

[Serph nods and takes a seat on the couch. He's not bothered at all by the display of affection and keeps his focus on Karkat. He isn't sure how much Karkat knows about Gamzee's new powers, so he goes with the assumption he knows nothing of them.

His voice is calm and even as he speaks.]

We are humans who are part demon. This gives us the power to transform into a demon. The demon form is often physically stronger, and grants additional abilities such as flight and magic.

[That's the nice part about being a demon. Now comes the not so nice part. Serph says his next words flatly, without any hesitation or fanfare.]

However, the demon needs to eat other people for sustenance.

[Figures that Gamzee would go that way. Karkat gives him a look as he settles up against his knee, half-wanting to tell him to move, but the other half - pale sentiment - wins out. He puts his hand against his shoulder, and gives a small squeeze for reassurance.]

[As it happens, he knows next to nothing, and so doesn't even think to interrupt as Serph goes to explain. His eyes stay on him, and he listens carefully to each word. Nothing too bad so far - demon, but he had a friend who was that was once. ~~If only he learned about this then.~~]

[Then comes the part he didn't hear about before: cannibalism. He tenses up.]

It what?

[He glances to Gamzee, then back at Serph.]

How does that work? Can he just not use that demon form and be fine, or is there a way to prevent it or regulate it or what?

[Hey, he is like a pathetic woofbeast now. Not even the allmighty grouchkat can resist that, right?

He doesn't really react when Serph speaks, but that is mostly on account of him having already gotten his 'holy shit what the fuck' out earlier when he was first told. Now he is just slightly numb to the idea. Having to eat people? cull to survive? Nope. He's just... nope.]

Ain't gonna fuckin' feast on any motherfuckers.

[Serph doesn't know why the demons need to devour others. It's something they've all questioned at some point, with no answers. He doesn't really know how to answer the first part, so he responds to the parts he does know the answers to. He's still as he continues to speak calmly and evenly. He isn't relaxed -- it's hard to be totally relaxed in someone else's territory -- but he's not tense either.]

The demon and human are linked. When the demon grows hungry [... hungrier than usual, anyway] it compels a person to devour. Neither food from the shops nor the coral have significant effect on the hunger. Usually one of our Tribe can temporarily ease the hunger. But she is a dog now.

[She cannot sing a song of peace. All she can do is bark cutely and make people wet... with her new water powers. Serph closes his eyes for a moment, exhaling, before his gaze momentarily flicks to Gamzee, returning to Karkat soon after.]

Eventually, the demon takes over and attacks everyone. By then, it's too late.

[Gamzee's determination not to do so is one thing, but when Serph is the guy in the know, Karkat wisely keeps quiet and waits for what he has to say on the issue.]

[What he hears doesn't ease him. It's one thing to deal with a rampaging indigoblood, but as far as he knows Gamzee was never compelled to eat the corpses he collected. Troll society and the use of grubs in everything and anything aside, of course - those are different circumstances than a driving need to consume. Especially when the only way to ease it is no longer available.]

[The moment Serph takes is hard to wait through. There's got to be more; that didn't sound like it was it - and he's right.]

Oh god. Then that means--

[He looks at Gamzee.]

He'll have to--

[He looks at Serph.]

Then--

[His thoughts go haywire. It was bad enough, with the events in the Veil, and the version that happened here over a year ago. He had to see it go down twice. But if Gamzee is going to have to devour a person, how are they supposed to handle it? If he can't stop it, who's he supposed to eat? How can he stop a rampaging demon driven mad with hunger?]

[But that catches him again: a rampaging demon. A demon that attacks everyone. His memories catch up to him with a conversation from earlier in the day, with a certain acquaintance who has wound up turned into an angel this week, and not the harmless singing-odes-to-god kind.]

[Before he can even speak to that matter, a metallic sound interrupts his thoughts, and well. His arm from the elbow down is suddenly the blade of a sickle. Gamzee may well reckognize it as resembling Homes Smell Ya Later.]

[Karkat, ever level-headed under pressure, opens his mouth and screams.]

Auuugghh, what the fuck?!

[Gamzee jerks away from his knee at the sudden metallic sound, his eyes rounding as he stares at him. What the fuck. Like seriously. What the actual fuck. Why is Karkat's arm a sickle? Humans didn't do that, right? Right?

Scrambling up slightly, he frowns, reaching for Karkat with one hand.]

Karkat. You aight?

[Forget this people eating business, he's got a moirail to fuss over.]

[...What the hell.

Karkat had looked like a human without any powers, but he's pretty sure humans don't do that! Angel had only transformed her hand, before. Does this mean Karkat has an Atma, too? ...No, this is far too uncontrolled. The usual marks of transformation are missing, too. Some other power, then?

He's neither the one sitting near Karkat nor someone who knows him well, so Serph stays in his seat on the couch, watching Karkat and Gamzee silently with little outward sign of his surprise at SUDDENLY BLADE ARM.

Gamzee's totally got this, right?]

[Karkat does nothing to stop Gamzee from reaching for him or sitting up or anything, but a good chunk of that is honestly because he's too busy freaking out. His moirail is part cannibalistic demon for the week and he himself is apparently part sickle. He waves the affected arm - away from Gamzee and the chair - but it does help. Even with swears it doesn't change back, and he frankly has no idea how to make it do so.]

Holy shit this is not what I wanted this week, not any of this, and no I am not okay. You're a man-eating demon thing and--and you're one too, apparently.

[He shoots a look at Serph.]

And now, without absolutely zero warning, I have to try to deal with turning into a weapon!

[Which is when another memory comes to mind.]

Wait--Maka. That's it, I'm one of those--those weapon people from her world. Jegus, could this even be any worse timing?

How am I even supposed to deal with any of this? I can't call her while I'm talking to you guys about this cannibalism crap, and I don't have a single clue what I'm supposed to do about that. How have you even been getting by this whole time? You said that other thing was temporary and--and you can't use that--so--

Who have you even been eating? Who is he supposed to eat? Oh god I was not made to handle this.

[He may be panicking. Just a little.]

Edited 2012-06-09 04:23 (UTC)

[It's okay, Serph. He got this one. This is sorta what he does. They might not be trolls anymore, but they'll always be moirails. And this freak out is definitely one that calls for a little moirail intervention.

Keeping well clear of the sickle --no, it is okay, Gamzee doesn't need any piercings, it's cool-- he squeezes his opposite shoulder, trying to call his attention back on him.]

Karkat, shoosh, bro. You fuckin' going at a motherfuckin' mile a minute here. Ain't none of us what can keep with ya. Shoosh.

[Serph patiently waits for the end of Karkat's little breakdown, not particularly perturbed by the verbal outburst. It seems like a good idea to wait until most of it's out, rather than try to interrupt it.

He only speaks after Gamzee's intervention, voice as calm and even as ever.]

Let's take things one at a time.

[While the whole turning into a weapon thing is probably more confronting at the moment, Serph doesn't have time to wait for Karkat to contact this Maka person and get his blade arm fixed before continuing their conversation. As far as Serph's concerned, Karkat can deal with some physical discomfort.]

I'm here to help Gamzee with "this cannibalism crap".

[Serph even says the last three words with the same inflection Karkat had used earlier, albeit with little change in expression. He keeps the implication "let's start there" unsaid, and he doesn't answer Karkat's questions just yet; he's not about to start explaining things while Karkat's in the middle of flipping out.]

[Good thing for Gamzee (and the furniture), Karkat at least has the sense to stop flailing his arm when it doesn't work. So the limb lowers, propping awkwardly against the chair arm, gentle in pressure to prevent damage. Not that it stops him from aiming little distressed looks at it now and then. This is really going to take some getting used to, and this is from someone who was a horse last time.]

[Okay, a pony, but whatever.]

[Under normal--well okay not normal, but different circumstances, he'd keep on freaking out even without the flailing. He'd be fishing out his SFC right about now to call up his friend, but that's just going to have to wait. Gamzee's efforts don't solve it all, but they do call his attention back to the prior topic, which is probably more pressing on the scale of things. Not like his arm is about go make him eat stuff.]

[~~So he could technically eat souls now, but he's not going to.~~]

[Serph's calmness is a bit odd on the other side, but it also helps in its own way. He's not going to make them wait for his own issues here.]

--Help. Right.

[He swallows, voice still fraught with the strain of his nerves.]

Tell me how.

[He'll keep the lid on his worries too, for now; they'd probably just work him up again to go asking just yet.]

Edited 2012-06-09 08:02 (UTC)

[Gamzee keeps his hand on Karkat's shoulder, giving him the occasional comforting squeeze as he perches on the arm of the chair this time around. He's still not ditching Karkat's side, and the fact that they are back to talking about 'that cannibalism crap' means his shoulders are tensing a little again. He just... really doesn't like this. He doesn't want to eat anyone. Not now and not ever.]

[Serph begins by answering Karkat's earlier questions. There's no hesitation in his voice as he explains, looking at Karkat as he does so; he's come to terms with his need to devour long ago.]

My Tribe and I hunt locals only. We have no wish to eat friends. Unlike most here, we do not need to eat multiple times a day.

[In Vatheon, anyway. It was different, in the Junkyard.]

Once a week is sufficient.

[Waiting seven days before hunting again is easy when he's fed recently, but most of the people cursed with Atma started the week hungry. To Serph, having people devour once is preferable to the very real potential of having several out-of-control demons attacking the city. But Gamzee doesn't want to eat at all, flat out refuses to. He's made that point very clear. Serph can see that Gamzee probably won't change his mind on that.

Gamzee's the only one so far who hasn't.

But Serph has had some time to think. The risk of just one out-of-control demon can be handled. His gaze goes to Gamzee. Perhaps...]

It is risky, especially for someone new to their demon and has not devoured recently, but it may be possible for you to hold out for the week.

[Karkat exhales a breath of relief as Serph lists who he and his "Tribe" - he's heard that term before, but his concerns are elsewhere - usually hunt. It's not perfect, but it's a far sight better than it could have been. The locals don't matter to him so much on the scale of things, and it absolves his main worry about cannibalistic demons being here at all. Better yet if it's not an everyday thing.]

[And yet... "once a week" does carry a certain implication. With Gamzee's hand on his shoulder, he reaches up with the hand he still has to squeeze at his upper arm, gentle, reaffirming his presence. He's going to help him through this somehow.]

[And then Serph says the last bit.]

Really?

[God, he hopes. He looks to Gamzee, then to Serph himself.]

I've helped him through some tough things before--stopped him when I don't know if anyone else could. Not human things, troll things. Like hell I've ever dealt with a devouring demon, but... if there is a way, if you really think it's possible--then I'll sure as hell try.

I'll do it.

[Because the alternative is just not something he can do. He'll deal with hunger, he'll deal with insanity, but he will not deal with innocent blood on his hands. Not again.

He glances down at Karkat, giving him a slightly uncertain expression.]

We up and be in know on how to fuckin' deal with me wilding anyway, yeah? Maybe the slime will fuckin' help.

[Yep. Either pap him or cull him. He'd even take that last over killing some innocent native.]

[Alright then. Serph doesn't know about any of the events Karkat and Gamzee are referring to, but he gets the general gist. Troll things. Right. No wonder Karkat looks familiar. But that's not really important to the matter at hand.

The warning signs of a demon on the verge of taking over are fairly obvious, but he lists them anyway; it's better to know what to expect than be thrown in completely unprepared. He addresses Gamzee.]

You will feel weak as your demon becomes hungrier. [He turns his attention to both Karkat and Gamzee.] When it is close to taking over, glowing lines will spread over the body. It is similar to a normal transformation, only involuntary. The glow will persist, even after transforming.

[By then, it's probably best to end it. But he leaves that unsaid, fishing in his pockets for his SFC instead.]

I have a song recorded on this. It lacks the same power as the one from our world, but it has a minor calming effect on the demon. I will transfer it, if you wish.

[The song in question is Sheik's Song of Healing.]

I don't know about the slime.

[He looks back to Gamzee again, considering.]

Do you know any humans who've tried it and seen if or how it affected them? Or did you eat any last time this Curse happened, if you can remember?

[It might work usually, but he doesn't want to put all his eggs in on proverbial basket here. Better to check the other options, and get what info he can, which thankfully Serph continues to provide. His attention returns as he speaks.]

I don't have my SFC on me right now, but yeah, send it. If it helps even a little then we might as well use it.

But the glowing and all that... It should be safe for a few days, right? But Gamzee, when you start feeling weak, you let me know. We'll--figure something out, and I'll stick with you. Maybe go up to the island or something away from people so there's less risk, if this is the way we're doing this.

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