1st clover

[fourleafed]

Who: Yotsuba and anyone
Where: The Plaza
When: The 25th, middle of the day
Status: open
Style: starting post is action, but I'll match you

[Just after lunchtime, a small child can be found in the middle of the plaza. She is soaking wet, but she doesn't seem to care, since she's found something to amuse herself.

Namely, she's siting on a high-up branch of the coral, swinging her legs and laughing happily. She seems completely unaware of any danger she could possibly be in, too.]

It's so high up! I can see everything!

Comments

[fourleafed]

[SCOWL SCOWL she is still angry. But it is good that Karkat is a responsible teenager and is taking steps to keep Yotsuba from hurting herself.]

Say you're sorry first.

[bethehugejerk]

[He doesn't like kids. Really, he doesn't. But he is someone who looked after 24 hapless grubs despite hating every one of them, and he really doesn't want to see the contents of Yotsuba's skull on the ground.]

[He's also stubborn to a fault.]

Sorry for what?

[fourleafed]

For saying mean things about Daddy.

[By now she's forgotten exactly what Karkat even said that was so offensive, but she remembers being angry about it and if you make someone angry you're supposed to say you're sorry.]

[bethehugejerk]

But he was wrong! And I can't say sorry when I don't feel sorry, because the curse this week makes it literally impossible for me to do so.

[Lousy stupid fucking curse, preventing him from lying to an innocent child for her own good.]

[fourleafed]

When you're mean you gotta say sorry or you get a time out!

[Poor Karkat, caught between a shitty curse and a tantruming kid. But she's staying put at least, and as long as she doesn't fall out she'll be alright.

Though she might try to put Karkat in a time out.]

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat glowers at her for a good long moment, eyes narrowed, mouth tight.]

[He points out one finger.]

You can't give me a time out while you're up there.

[He starts climbing back down. It's a gamble, but it's the best he can think of.]

[fourleafed]

[Oh god he's right. She'll have to climb down to give him a time out. But he wants her to climb down so if she climbs down to give him a time out then she's doing what he wants.

She is clearly torn here, going back and forth as she tries to decide exactly what to do. She might even look visibly upset for a moment as she thinks about it, but finally she gives up and starts to climb down.]

[bethehugejerk]

[Victory!! It takes a force of will for Karkat to stop himself from giving a laugh of triumph, but he can't hide the self-pleased smirk that curves his mouth. He climbs down the rest of the way in silence, then backs up from the coral a short distance. This way, he thinks, she'll have to leave the structure entirely to come give him the supposed time out.]

[An hour or so from now he'll look back on his actions and hate himself.]

[fourleafed]

[Oh, she does climb down, but when she turns to face Karkat again she has a look of absolute hatred on her face.

You ruined her fun, Karkat. You are now Yanda.

She points directly at him as she says the next part.]

Time out! For ten minutes!

[bethehugejerk]

[ . . . ]

What do I even do for a time out?

[This probably explains some things about him.]

[fourleafed]

You go think about what you did!

[Yotsuba belatedly realizes that she can use this to her advantage to get ice cream, but when she opens her mouth to say that the words don't come out. It confuses her, and her anger is momentarily forgotten as she tries to make herself lie to Karkat but can't.]

[bethehugejerk]

[The conflict is unknown to Karkat, but that works just fine. He raises an eyebrow.]

What, is that it? All I did was tell you your dad was full of shit and make you get down somewhere safe so you wouldn't hurt yourself.

[fourleafed]

[Oh right, she was disciplining Karkat. Thanks for the reminder, she quickly forgets about the fact that she wasn't able to lie to get ice cream. Instead she crosses her arms in front of her.]

It's not what you say, it's how you say it.

[...Or so her dad always told her.]

[bethehugejerk]

If I sit here thinking about how I said it, I'm still not going to change my mind about it.

[Pause.]

What's your name?

[fourleafed]

[You're missing the point, Karkat.]

Yotsuba Koiwai.

[bethehugejerk]

[He doesn't care about the point.]

What if I just refuse to take the timeout entirely?

[fourleafed]

Then you don't get ice cream after dinner.

[Except she has no way of enforcing that whoops.]

[bethehugejerk]

[He frowns a bit, and again missing the point:]

I never said I wanted ice cream today.

[fourleafed]

Can I eat your ice cream?

[If he doesn't want it anyway, then he might as well give it to someone who does.]

(1/3)

[bethehugejerk]

[It's now that Karkat finally realizes what a stupid conversation he's having. He's arguing with what looks like a two-sweep-old (he hasn't mapped visual ages to human years, despite knowing the equivalence), and not just over anything, but about time outs and ice cream and swearing.]

[With a two-sweep-old.]

[A two-sweep-old.]

(2/3)

[bethehugejerk]

(3/3)

[bethehugejerk]

[His hand leaves his face.]

No, you can't have my ice cream. And you know what? I'm going to take that time out after all, because I'm an idiot and I need to consider exactly what led me to this situation.

[fourleafed]

[It's kind of sad that there's no ice cream to be had here, but this is okay, time outs are good.]

Okay.

[Yotsuba will reach up to grab Karkat's hand and drag him over to the side of the plaza for his time out, but she stops as soon as she touches him. And instead she will stare down at the exposed skin on Karkat's hand.

That's not paint.]

[bethehugejerk]

[What. What's happening? Why is she touching him? He looks down at where her hand has taken hold of his doubtlessly larger and rougher one. Though his nails are short, there is a sharpness to them, and they're also very orange in a way that has nothing to do with nail polish.]

[Karkat would throw a tantrum if someone forced him to wear nail polish.]

[After a second or two, he says with his mouth full of fangs, grey tongue, and black lips:]

Is hand-holding some part of the time out you failed to explain to me? Or are you trying to make sure I don't run off on you?

[Nevermind he could just pull his hand out of her grasp and run, if he wanted to.]

[fourleafed]

[Karkat speaking gets Yotsuba to look up at him, and she notices the sharp teeth and the strange alien face.

Yep, Karkat sure isn't human!

Yotsuba isn't saying anything, but she's starting to shiver a bit and look like she might start crying. Claws and teeth are scary, okay?]