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

[bethehugejerk]

[Did she really just--]

[Why is he even wondering, of course she did. Karkat sighs and follows after her, munching at what remains of his own cone as he goes. Either they'll find this dad of hers, or more likely, they'll at least be out of the store when he has to make her face his absence.]

[fourleafed]

[Well she's going to start crying when she realizes it either way, so Karkat will have to deal with a crying child somewhere.

Yotsuba wanders down a street, looking up at the buildings and down the roads as they pass them. She stops, turns down another street, and keeps going. As she walks along, she grows more unsure of herself, until she ultimately stops all together and just stands there, looking at all the buildings.

She is lost.]

[bethehugejerk]

[By the time Yotsuba comes to a stop, Karkat has finished off his cone and licked the last, melted remains of ice cream from his fingers. It hasn't been as enjoyable as it usually is, because each uncertain turn has made the outcome of this venture clearer. A portion of it is spent trying to think what to say to her. He's sure he'll sound like an asshole no matter how he words it.]

[Now he rubs a hand through his mess of a hairdo, then kneels down before her. Something like a starfish crossed with a cellphone - his SFC - is suddenly in his hand.]

I'm going to try something for you. Tell me your earth dad's full name and I'll see if I can find it on this list here.

[He brings up the list of foreigners. He doesn't tell her the "if not".]

[fourleafed]

It's Koiwai.

[She's going to stand there and watch Karkat curiously now. She actually got one of those SFC things, but she had no idea what it was, so it's just in her pocket right now.

When Karkat looks at the list, the only 'Koiwai' on there is Yotsuba herself, since it's her family name.]

What's that thing?

[bethehugejerk]

[Okay, not a full name, but he can deal with it. He's not going to pester her for something she just might not know. He's not sure how the name basis goes with earth children and their parents, much less when she's this young. As he searches, he explains.]

It's a Starfish Communicator. You can use it to talk to other people here, and see what messages they've made on the network. You should have one too if you didn't leave it by the coral.

[Easy thing to say. But the name's not turning up beyond Yotsuba's own, even when he checks a second time, and a third. His eyebrows have drawn in progressively through the course of it; by the end, a deep frown has set onto his face. He rubs the bridge of his nose.]

He's... He's not on here, but look, I'm going to take you to someone. She'll--I hope she'll know what to do. Okay?

[fourleafed]

[Small children can be oblivious at times, but they pick up on tone and mood pretty easily. So when Karkat speaks, Yotsuba can tell something is up, and she starts to get worried.]

Does she know where Daddy is?

[bethehugejerk]

No.

[It's out before he can stop himself, and he knows he couldn't if he tried. There is a whole litany of swears he thinks in the direction of the scientists who thought up this curse. Still, he stands and holds his hand out to her. Hand holding is not really his thing, normally, but he's at a loss for what else to offer.]

But she has to have more clue what to do about this than I do. She--she raised my ancestor, she knows about this stuff, just--come with me, we'll figure shit out.

[He can't even look at her full on. It feels about like telling a wiggler that Twelfth Perigee's Eve is cancelled, forever, and not for purposes of trolling them.]

[fourleafed]

[Yotsuba is very unsure of all of this. She wants to find her dad and just go home already, the fun has kind of stopped at this point. But she has no idea how to get there, and running away from Karkat won't help because she doesn't know anyone else who could help her right now.

So she nods and grabs a hold of Karkat's hand, so she can be led to this lady Karkat is talking about. She's not sure what an ancestor is, but she knows what 'raised' means, so she's guessing this woman is a mom of some kind. Moms always know what to do.]

[bethehugejerk]

[At least she's not crying. Karkat lets out a slow breath, and with her hand in his, starts walking. He doesn't talk, because what's he supposed to say? He at least knows where he's going. Being familiar with Vatheon's layout helps a lot in a case like this.]

[Unless she speaks up, it's going to be a quiet trip.]

[wavesofjade]

[It's perhaps lucky for Karkat that the Dolorosa is currently in her hive and not out wandering the bubble. Things have been.. strange, of late. Difficult, and she's been keeping a little more to herself than usual.

Still, that doesn't mean she isn't pleased to see Karkat when she opens the door to him. She smiles, then looks down to the small human child holding his hand.]

Hello, Karkat! What a pleasure to have you visit. And who might your companion be?

[fourleafed]

[As adventurous as Yotsuba had been earlier, she suddenly goes shy. The Dolorosa is really tall, and she's an alien too. She doesn't look threatening at all, but Yotsuba is still surprised by the tallness.

She'll move closer to Karkat and hang onto his arm while she waits to see what he has to say.]

[bethehugejerk]

[Yeah, Karkat isn't looking too happy about this visit. It's a shame, because he wishes he could be glad to just visit the Dolorosa, He looks from her to Yotsuba and sighs.]

This is Yotsuba. I met her when she was climbing on the coral like a moron, and made an idiot of myself in the process, but the point is that she's a human kid who's new here and her custodian isn't in Vatheon. She's going to need a place to stay, and I haven't got the faintest clue of what to do with her. I figured you might know something after raising the Signless, and I didn't know where else to bring her.

[But he should do introductions the other way too, right?]

--This is the Dolorosa. She's...

[Wait, shit, how does he explain?]

Think of her as my grandma, because that's probably the closest human analogue you can get and I am not going to try to explain the details when you wouldn't follow half of them.

[wavesofjade]

[Oh, poor Karkat.. of all people to find and take charge of a human child.

The Dolorosa crouches down, significantly reducing her height and hopefully making herself less intimidating in the process. She smiles in a way that's soft and mostly conceals the fact she has a mouth full of sharp teeth, a look that warms all the way up to her eyes.

It's half for the benefit of the child, and half because she'd never thought to have that particular human-familial term applied to her by Karkat.]

Hello, Yotsuba. Has Karkat been taking good care of you?

[fourleafed]

[She nods.]

He got me ice cream. He's a good alien.

[Then she pauses, and she considers the Dolorosa carefully before speaking again.]

You don't look old like a granny.

[Yep. Of all the things she could say here, she's saying that the Dolorosa is too young to be a grandmother. But it's true, the Dolorosa looks more like a mom than a grandma.

Also, crouching down and looking gentle really does help make Yotsuba feel better. She'll detach herself from Karkat's arm and pull away a bit, though she still hangs onto his hand with hers. She's more curious than scared now.]

[bethehugejerk]

Trust me, Yotsuba, trolls can get ancient compared to even the oldest humans. ... Some anyway.

[His lifespan: something kind of worrying that he doesn't really like to think about.]

[Looking at the Dolorosa again, he says,]

If she asks for anything sweet, don't give it to her today. She has a sucker that some shopkeeper gave her before we could even get to the ice cream place, and while we were there she wanted candy corn on top of that.

[But he is calming a bit now, shoulders losing some of their tension and expression smoothing to a more normal level of frown. Things feel more under control. It really does help to have someone who knows how to deal with kids helping the situation.]

[wavesofjade]

[She chuckles, holding out her hand towards the child, and turns her smile up to Karkat.]

Would you like to come in?

[Just leaving the little girl here with a stranger seems a touch cold-hearted, after all...]

Both of you.

[fourleafed]

[The easy solution to this is that Yotsuba will grab onto the Dolorosa's hand, but she won't let go of Karkat's. Now everyone has to go inside!]

But candy corn is yummy! And your horns look like candy corn.

[bethehugejerk]

[He gives the Dolorosa a bit of a helpless look when Yotsuba takes hold of her hand too. He has no choice. He is this small child's prisoner.]

[That's quickly stopped, however, by what the girl says. He sends a sharp look her way.]

They look like horns. And if you have too much sugar you'll get sick, stupid. Do you want that?

[wavesofjade]

Ssh, now. There is no need to speak so harshly.

[But she smiles - she understands, little ones can be difficult, and Karkat is barely an adult himself. She stands, though still needs to drop her height a little so she isn't simply lifting Yotsuba from the ground, and takes them both inside the house with her.]

I am afraid that I am unfamiliar with 'candy corn'...

[fourleafed]

[She would love to dangle from the Dolorosa's arms and get dragged everywhere, it's like flying and flying is fun. But Yotsuba is ok with walking for right now.]

I'll get some so you both can try it!

[Eventually. When she finds a candy store.

But right now there are more pressing issues.]

Should I call you 'Mom' or 'Granny?'

[bethehugejerk]

I speak that way to everyone, Dolorosa, and you know it.

[Plus he's stubborn as it gets. He heads into the hive along with her, frowning a bit as usual, but peers back at Yotsuba's question.]

Can't you just call her by her name?

[wavesofjade]

I know, little one.

[When she's drawn them both inside and closed the door, she takes them to the main room, where she pats a seat for Yotsuba to sit and nods to Karkat to do the same. It doesn't seem as if she wants to let go of their hands, anyway.]

Now, Yotsuba... for what you should call me, which would you prefer?

['Mom' and 'Grandma' have no translation in their language, after all, but how to explain that to a human child? It's better not to try, she thinks.]

[fourleafed]

[She sticks out her tongue at Karkat, because Dolorosa being ok with a new name = Yotsuba totally won. But then she thinks long and hard about it, because she's not sure which would be better. Karkat said Dolorosa is his granny, but Dolorosa looks too young to be a granny...

Eventually she makes a decision based not on what Dolorosa looks like, but because she'll technically be above Karkat in family ranking.]

Okay, you're Mom.

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat sits, though he'll take his hand back now if Yotsuba will let him. With her in relatively safe custody, his willingness to go along with her whims is starting to run low. Though, he sticks his tongue out right back at her. It's grey.]

[He looks to the Dolorosa again.]

So what are we going to do with her?

[wavesofjade]

Hm..

[It's a good question. The little girl seems to have attached herself to Karkat, so she's not sure how the suggestion will be received, but she makes it in any case.]

She may stay here, if she would like to.