vatheon | Terror under the sea

Entry tags:

Terror under the sea

Who: The Disciple and whoever
Where: The Plaza, The forest, and the path in between.
When: Early morning 3/29
Style: whatever suits your fancy.
Status: Open

Water. She was Wet.

She came to lying down, somehow drenched in saltwater. Blood mingled with seawater, on her hands and face. The Disciple was unable to remember how she got here. She seemed to be in some sort of city. A heavy fear caught in her chest. She shook herself awake to figure out where exactly she was.

"Where...am..." Her voice cracked from disuse.

Her conscious brain began shutting down as her senses were pounded with information. The sights and sounds of this new place, hammered into her mind. Unfamiliar beings were all around her, some even looking at her, in the open. Her mind scrambled for purchase. Worst of all was the scent. With so many...things together in this dome, compounded with the ever-present smell of seawater. Flooded with input, her animal brain took over.

FLEE!

DANGER!

Finally, she caught wind of a familiar scent. Trees; there were trees here. She flung herself after the scent, knocking aside anything in her path. Desperate for survival she attempted back alleys and other paths that didn't reek of these many strange beings.

She fled to the southeast.

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"No!" Nepeta shrieked out, grabbing onto Equius' arms and hauling herself onto him as quickly as she could, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding on tight as she looked beseechingly at the Disciple. "He's my moirail," she added in an only slightly quieter tone, hoping that her ancestor would at the very least recognize that word and what it meant.

At the same time she was stroking Equius' cheek, trying to calm him down and soothe him and hopefully show the adult troll facing them that he wasn't as dangerous as she was sure he seemed just then. "Shhh, it's okay, I'm fine, really, I'm not hurt, shhhh, everything's okay..."

Equius openly snarls at the older troll, showing his jagged, broken fangs. He feels better with Nepeta safe in his arms, and it doesn't even register that his moirail had been talking to him when she cried out.

"I will end you, oliveblood," he growls at the Disciple, hardly feeling the way Nepeta is stroking his cheek and trying to calm him down. "I will make you pay for hurting my moirail."

She watched with a visceral smile as Nepeta climbed onto the blueblood. Even hurt by the thing, the little one was still capable of fighting back. The Disciple looked for an opportunity to strike now that the little one was fiercely... stroking it's cheek?...

Wait...

...What?

Her eyes were not confusing her, that really was the little one carefully caressing the cheek of the highblood. Bewildered by what she was seeing, the beast inside of her hesitated. Making use of that as a springboard, the elder troll forced the beast to the side and took control.

Recent memories cascaded back into place. She was the one who hurt the little one, not this newcomer. He was acting in defense of her, and she of him. The highblood filth was protecting her from me, the crazed monster. One question stuck in her mind. Her fighting stance dropping to one of acquiescence, one arm stayed up, gesturing towards the blueblood.

"You said, mate was brownblood," she asked, speaking more surely, "Not this...thing." Anger still pulsed through her, but it was being kept in check.

"No you won't, Equius!" she declared, breaking off watching her ancestor to smack him sharply on the shoulder instead. He probably wouldn't even feel it, while her hand would be stinging for a while, but it was a sure way to get across the fact that she was really annoyed with him. "You won't hurt her, you won't, they made her end up like this, okay?! They took away everyone she loved and she ended up on her own! She's the one who's really hurting, not me!"

There was a growl in her voice as she told him off, but that didn't mean she hadn't gone right back to papping at his face. He was more likely to listen if the edge was taken off of his anger.

And then Disciple blindsided her with that question.

She turned back towards her, hand frozen mid-pap, part of her noting with relief that she seemed somewhat calm and reasonable again. Another part of her flailing because damn it Equius wasn't a thing, and was that really how their relationship looked, or was the Disciple still just confused.

"Moirail," she corrected her. "Equius is my moirail." She held her hands up in front of her in the age-old diamond sign representing moirallegiance, since perhaps a visual would better help the other troll to understand. "My matesprit is a brownblood, I didn't have to tell you, you smelled him on me, remember?"

Edited 2012-04-04 21:38 (UTC)

Equius keeps Nepeta close to him, and he stops snarling aloud, although his upper lip keeps curling over his fangs and his eyes never leave the older troll. He doesn't care what has been done to her, he doesn't care what her story is; all he cares about is that she hurt his moirail, and if he gets half a chance, he'll destroy her for that gross injustice.

Deep in his chest, he keeps rumbling. From a distance, it might almost be mistaken for a purr, but up close, it's very glaringly a growl, a warning to stay back.

She fought against the anger that had settled over her. She had done something terrible, and she didn't want to lose herself again and make it worse. But, it was still a highblood. They had done horrible things to her; to...others. Now this little one threatened her. NO. It...he was protecting Nepeta. Remember her? The one that you hurt.

She had to somehow make it better.

KILL IT. BEFORE IT KILLS YOU! Her bestial mind howled for vengeance; for blood.

NO.

Not again. She would not lose herself again.

A unthinking step forward.

She knew what she would do. It was stupid, and the feral part of her mind screamed in protest. The elder greenblood, focusing arduously, forced it silent.

A second heedless step, then a third and fourth. The Disciple stood still for a a couple seconds, her features giving away her inner turmoil. Ultimately she allowed herself to fall, landing hard on her knees, arms slack at her sides. RUN. KILL. SOMETHING...NO. It would be this way.

With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and exposed her throat to the blueblood; Her mind on fire with opposition.

Edited 2012-04-07 09:32 (UTC)

A sound of dismay escaped Nepeta the moment the Disciple's knees hit the ground, and it was only then that she stopped soothingly petting her moirail's face and started to urgently tug at his sleeveless top instead.

"Equius...Equius, put me down, please..." She'd jump down but wasn't quite feeling up to being jarred again so soon, and anyway she couldn't predict what her moirail would do if it looked like she was running back into danger.

"You know how hard it is fur a troll to make themselves vulnerable like that!" In fact, Nepeta hadn't ever even seen it happen before outside of quadrants, and it only made her need to rush over there and comfort her ancestor even more. "She really didn't mean to hurt me, you can see she didn't, please, Equius, let me go to her, she was looking after me before you got here, she was only scared you meant to hurt us." The small greenblood looked frantically between her moirail and her ancestor; the adult had made the first move to smooth over the sitation, surely Equius was capable of accepting it?

Equius is... hopelessly confused. When the older oliveblood had started moving towards them, all his muscles had tensed, ready to STRONG jump away and put Nepeta somewhere safe, then return and do... something. Something that would make sure the other troll never hurt someone he cared about again.

But then she knelt and exposed her neck like that, and Equius is lost. He has no idea what to do here, and so just stands there, stupidly, until Nepeta's voice and the way she's tugging on him penetrate the fog. He crouches and puts Nepeta down, but he's not leaving. He waits, unsure how this is going to play out.

Eyes closed, throat still bared, she waited. She tried to ready herself for what would be coming. FOOL. FLEE. WEAK. A slight shake to her head, rejecting her instinct. She tried to control her breathing, but it was turning shallow and rapid. Still, she struggled to maintain herself.

A brief flash of insight struck her. She had been here before, or at least somewhere similar. Kneeling in front of a blueblood, terrified. When was that? where...? Just as quickly the thought was gone, leaving her unable to remember anything else from that night.

The Disciple stayed put, her disquiet growing.

Edited 2012-04-07 19:24 (UTC)

Equius was flashed a quick look of gratitude from his moirail, a look also tinged by relief that the Disciple's actions had at least delayed if not completely dispelled the thoughts of revenge Nepeta was afraid he'd been harboring.

A couple of steps brought her up close to her ancestor again and then she was crouching, lifting a hand to the adult's cheek before she thought better of it and spoke instead. "It's okay, Miss Disciple. Look, I'm fine. Everything's going to be fine, I promise."

She tilted her head, a strange younger mirror-image of the troll in front of her, offering the same trust and resignation that the Disciple had shown them. And if it was accepted she'd lean forward to nuzzle against the older troll's exposed throat, rewarding trust with kindness and affection, showing her it was okay to offer them that trust, that it was a welcomed gift that wouldn't be used against her.

Now, Equius is not a stupid troll. He knows this, and also knows that the way he looks leads people to assume he is dumb. Most of the time, he can persuade them otherwise with a few quick words.

And then there are times like this.

"She's... she's your ancestor!" He blurts it out, surprised, and almost reels backwards.

Someone spoke directly in front of her, startling the Disciple's eyes open. They darted around, taking in the scene in front of her. She had expected the highblood to be standing above her, revenge lighting that same fire in his eyes. What she had gotten was quite a different scene.

The little one had approached, and was standing in front of her. She had been the one that had spoken. The Disciples eyes darted behind the young greenblood. The blueblood dropped his aggressive pose and was speaking as well. He had a unexpected look on his face, one of astonishment.

Inside her the battle still raged, the beast that lied just below her surface thoughts battled against the tenuous hold she had. It still cried out for blood; vengeance. Soon, however, her survival instinct washed away in a sweeping torrent, thanks to the actions of the young greenblood.

Nepeta had pressed her head against the Disciples still exposed throat. She was being nuzzled. A wave of calm clarity spread over the elder greenblood, that same feeling she had felt not too long ago, before the approach of the highblood.

The Disciple wrapped her arms around the little one, drawing her into a hug. Tears played at the edges of her eyes, recalling what she had done.

"Ne..peta. I...am sorry. Hurt little one," her eyes turned to Equius. "...wanted kill...moirail. Never...forgive...I"

She was screaming inwardly, growing increasingly frustrated at being unable to correctly say what she meant. Why did her brain feel so fuzzy?

"It's okay," Nuzzle, nuzzle, gentle hug. "I know it was an accident and that you didn't want to hurt me." A few more nuzzles and then she looked up at her with a smile, reaching up to wipe away the tears gathering at the corner of the Disciple's eyes.

She turned her slightly to beam that same smile at Equius, looking relieved and happy that things were sorting themselves out, as well as faintly amused that only now is he getting it. "I tried to tell you! She is. She's called the Disciple." She wasn't surprised he hadn't heard her though, not when he'd seen her get hurt and gone into a rage.

"And this is Equius, my moirail," she added, turning back to the Disciple. "I know...I know that highbloods hurt you and did awful things to you and the people you care about, but Equius never had anything to do with that and he's not like that anyway. He's got friends all over the hemospectrum! And he's moirails with me." She rubbed her face against her ancestor's cheek. "So there's not going to be any killing or hurting anyone, okay?"

Equius sighs and scrubs his face over his hand, once again thinking about how he very, very clearly has the best ancestor, and all the other ones can go home.

"Where do you think she should stay?" he asks, directing the question to Nepeta.

A lot of words from the little one, and quickly. Her mind struggling to catch even the feel of what she had said. The young greenblood was reassuring her. Also, introducing her moirail. Trying to decide if she should break the hug and meet the blueblood, or keep the bolstering hug and risk offending Nepeta's friend. She was over-thinking things.

She opted to do both. Once again utilizing her lithe feline grace, she scooped the little one up into her arms and rose to her feet. See? Hugs and walking at the same time. That strange motherly instinct had taken over once again, the beast caged in its dark corner.

She carried the little one carefully, Nepeta's head pressed to her chest. The beating of her heart would be quite noticeable to the little one, this close. The accelerated beating slowing to a much more sedate level, as the young greenblood listened.

With her bundle, the Disciple approached Equius. A strange thought entered her mind... humor, something she had precious little of for as long as she could remember. Yes, that would make for a better introduction.

A smile played at the edges of lips. "Believe this... your's?"

Nepeta wanted nothing more than to take Disciple home with her and look after her there, but she knew that the best place for her was almost definitely with Signless. She was reluctant to mention him out loud for now though, given how the other oliveblood had reacted to the picture of him earlier... Especially considering Equius wasn't exactly a gigantic fan of Karkat's ancestor.

She was still thinking of how to best answer her moirail when the Disciple stood up with her in her arms and she automatically tightened her hold around her ancestor's neck, snuggling close and feeling surprisingly happy considering the tense situation which had only just been defused. She could see that she was being carried over back to Equius and wasn't too sure what Disciple was planning, but the sound of her calming heartbeat soothed her, reassured her that the other troll was once again in control of herself, more aware of what was actually going on around her rather than what the more feral part of her mind thought it was perceiving.

She nestled against her chest, the steady beat calming her in turn and reminding her in a half-forgotten way of being a tiny wiggler snuggled close to her lusus, listening to the same sound.

And then she saw the little smile playing on her ancestor's mouth, heard what she said and, after a short moment of staring in surprise, burst out into a peal of happy giggling. Nepeta was suddenly certain that everything was going to be okay.

"Um... I guess?" Equius holds his arms back out, assuming the older troll will deposit Nepeta in them and they can be on their way. This whole thing just makes no sense, and he wants to fuss over his moirail and tend to her wounds.

She didn't want to relinquish the little one, but bridges must be rebuilt. The young greenblood's moirail seemed still seemed understandably on edge. She held her arms in such a way that Nepeta could climb over.

This close to the blueblood, she catches more of a detailed scent coming from him. It had seemed startlingly familiar, yet she could not place from where. It seemed to trigger the same note of anger that the scent of highblood generally carried with it. But the scent also sparked feelings of sorrow. Frustratingly, she could not remember why.

Still, if this was the moirail of the little one, she would have to make nice. She tried thinking what she could say to make up for the terrible thing she had done.

"Ap-ppologies for hurting little one..." Oh crap, what'd she say his name was!? No time! say something!"...blue...friend." The Disciple blinked. She was terrible at this.

“You guess?” she repeated at Equius, laughing and teasing and making a show of cuddling closer to the Disciple. If he wasn’t sure then maybe she’d wait until he was! But no, as reluctant as she was to let go of her ancestor she was even more eager to be back in her moirail’s arms and soothe away that confused anxious look of his.

She turned back to the other greenblood to say goodbye, petting at her cheeks and reaching up to kiss her forehead. “Equius,” she reminded her in a helpful whisper. “Don’t worry, I’m okay. Do you want to come home with us? Or are you more comfortable staying here? I’ll come and find you again soon if you are.” Though she doubted she’d need to once she sent Signless her way.

Finally she let herself be handed over, smothering Equius with kittyhugs as soon as she was in his arms again.

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Terror under the sea

Oh noes...

casually makes things worse

now she makes it awkward...

SO AWKWARD...

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