Kanaya Maryam is the first one to notice that Karkat Vantas is gone. While working on a Letterman jacket for his wriggling day, which was coming up a while later, but she wanted to have it ready in time, the Virgo's mind wandered off to the memories with and of the Cancer troll who was one of her best friend. It had been over a week since last seeing and talking with the other. Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth quietly, she placed the project down, determined to get some information on his whereabouts.

Asking others was the second thing that she had done, besides doing a thorough sweep over of the area, except troll's respiteblocks, or human bedrooms. Sure, she may have been a meddler, but invading other's privacy was not something that the troll did. And, if she did ever do it, the results were usually catastrophic. That, was not something she wanted. It wasn't a very favorable outcome, either.

At first, question asking was utter hell. Rose was too drunk to hold the conversation for longer than a minute and a half or so, and after that point her words were too slurred to be comprehended anyways. Sighing softly, the jade blood continued on, searching for Terezi. "Hey, Terezi?" she asked, eyes catching sight of the formerly blind Libra who appeared to have bruises scattering her grey skin. For a moment, the teal blood's eyes widened, gaining a 'deer in the headlights' glare over them for a millisecond, before returning to normal. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Have you seen Karkat lately?" Worry laced her tone, a pale type of worry that Gamzee should have spoken with, if he had even noticed that the latter was gone at all (he and Terezi's relationship had without a doubt become a black one). With a shrug and a small, "Sorry," she strolled off.

Probably going to pail with the kismesis she's been trying to keep such a secret from Karkat, and everyone, actually. The rainbow drinker grumbled internally, tone disdainful. She couldn't help it. The clown needed to go down, but there was no need to hide it from the mutant, or from anyone for that matter. This was going to be more difficult than she thought.

After asking The Mayor (Karkat usually provided some extra cans for Can Town), Dave, John, and basically everyone who had a positive link to the crimson blood, there were no straight answers. She had considered asking his 'official' moirail, and promptly decided to abscond her rationality the hell out of that thought, and quickly. But she wasn't the only one who had noticed his strange disappearance, thankfully. Everyone she asked knew, or at least were concerned when mentioning her observations. No one knew where he was, though, or his last whereabouts from later than last Tuesday, according to Dave and The Mayor, who said that he had helped rebuild the jail when it was accidentally knocked over by John's breath abilities. John, however, saw Karkat the night earlier, but that was it. He had completely dropped off the map.

"Oh goodness... what if he's- no, don't think like that. If he was dead there would have been more of a commotion. But no one's looked in his respite- wait! His respiteblock!" That was it! The one thing that had lingered in the back of her mind since everyone the Virgo had queried had answered the question of the Cancer's whereabouts: she hadn't checked his block yet! "Why didn't I think of that earlier?!" she exclaimed, very thrilled with her realization, but also kicking herself mentally for not doing so before asking. Well, no going back now, she supposed.

There was only one thing to do, really. The one thing that would decide where Karkat Vantas was. His respiteblock was the only place he could be. If he was alive, he couldn't be in very good shape, or so she assumed. If he wasn't... shudders ran up her spine at the thought. Don't think about that, Kanaya. He has to be alive. He needs to be safe. With a nod of complete determination, she clenched her fists for a fraction of a second, and then she walked off. Off to Karkat's respiteblock, the only place where she knew he could be now.

Three solid and steady knocks were given on the door of the room of the other, and she calmly waited, calling out his name once to allow him to know who it was. Hopefully, he would be able to hear her through the wood. But this wasn't something she doubted. He could always hear her, even if he was asleep, which she hurriedly apologized for once he mentioned that he had been sleeping. He didn't mind, though, when she came over, they just talked, or the two watched one of his cheesy romance movies in the time that he didn't have a moirial when he was feeling down.

No answer came from the knocks. Her head tilted to the side, neat, silky, and smooth strands of her ebony hair flowing with the motion. "Karkat are you in there?" she asked, voice louder than the first time she had spoken. As she began to add something onto her beginning statement, but was cut off.

"Go away, Kanaya..." the voice from the other end was hoarse, lingering, pitiful, and most of all, sounding as if he was on the verge of tears.

"No. I'm not leaving. I've been concerned about you since before you just faded off the radar," she countered, voice stern in a maternal way. The way that a mother would scold a small child for doing something wrong.

"JUST GO THE FUCK AWAY! WHY THE HELL DO YOU CARE ANYWAYS?!" Her hand hesitated on the doorknob. He wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't hurt anyone without a good reason. In rage, Karkat never was one for extreme violence unless it was uncontrollable, or so she assumed.

There had always been certain moments in her life where autopilot just took over without her permission. When the Virgo had slammed the door open in one fluent, not to mention loud, motion, was one of them.

But when she realized everything her eyes were taking in, shock flowed through her body like blood.

She should have come earlier.

Second pale KarNaya fic woo-hoo! This ship is my life I'm not even kidding.

Reviews would be great.
I love you all.
The reviewers on my last fanfiction of this ship were so sweet.

TRIGGER WARNING ON THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR THE FOLLOWING:
Self harm
Depression
Graphic descriptions of violence/wounds/etc.

(I'll repost this warning on the next chapter at the start, too, just thought I would put it here now.)