"So, if I'm nice. The other trolls will like me?"
"Yeah"
"Really?"
"Yeah"
"So then they'll start to feel red for me? Without me forcing them to?"
"Well… maybe not straight away, but, eventually they will"
Vriska smiled, she rested her head against John's shoulder smiling "Thanks" She extended her legs, stretching her limbs. She yawned quietly, tired from the days activities.
"No problem" John replied softly. His clothes were dirty and ragged, torn in places.
Vriska had dragged John around the Land of Maps and Treasure at least twice. Today alone. She was searching for buried treasure she had read about in Mindfang's journal.
John reached into his backpack, looking for his drink.
Lurking in the trees behind the two was an imp. It gripped onto the branch, its dark toes curling around the wood. It prepared to attack, waiting for the right moment.
John tilted his head back, downing half of the fresh water he had packed that morning. He looked up; the map that was etched into the sky was fading as it grew later. Their quest postponed for yet another day.
Vriska looked up into the same eerie sky. The constellations shone brightly, though one stood out amongst the other eleven. Scorpio.. Though it would be, being the symbol of her dancestor, Marquise Spineret Mindfang.
It was easy being John's patron troll. He didn't complain when Vriska wanted to watch a movie. The would sprawl out on the sofa with a large bowl of popcorn and would almost always end up cuddling together and falling asleep half way through the movie.
Their relationship was stable and strong, though there were two things that annoyed her.
One thing was Katkat. The nooksucker would always intrude on the two, complaining like a grub when he didn't get his way. She couldn't understand why the red blood loved red-rom movies so much.
Second was that John was completely head over heels for the horn-fondling mutant. Vriska was glad for the time she got to spend alone with John. It was great to see how tranquil Skaia could be, watching the salamanders play. Casey had taken an instant liking to Vriska, often seeking attention and affection from her before turning to John.
She treasured her moirail, almost as much as Mindfang's journal. There was an ache in her pump biscuit every time she was with him; she wanted to take it further. And there was one thing in her way.
If the nooksucker wasn't enough trouble already, he was John's current matesprit, though, the two had been arguing a lot recently. Vriska couldn't tell whether this was them becoming kismeissitude or just Karkat being cranky as usual.
John interrupted the awkward silence "Let's camp out here tonight. There's no point on hiking all the way back to your hive"
"Yeah" Vriska replied, mid thought.
They scaled the nearest tree and sat on one of the branches, resting against the study trunk. Vriska laid against John who, in turn, put his arm around her. They slowly drifted to sleep.