It's so lonely; I don't think I'll get over it. His blood, all of it draining down. I don't know why I was spared. My legs hurt so much, but I can't stop now. People need to know his legacy.
Why is everything so cruel?
~-..-~
She made her way through the caves of the Mother Grub. She had to flee. The others don't get it. Aren't tenders of the brooding caverns supposed to help all grubs? Why was this one any different? Why was he any different? It sounded like the others were giving chase. If she could just make it to her quarters and out of there then maybe-
There were people blocking her room. She ran, nicking her arm on one of the stalactites and spilling jade blood onto the floor. Not being able to stop, she ran. She ran and ran right out of the caverns and into the desert sun. The poor wriggler squealed out in pain as the rays hit its carapace. Ripping a cloth off of her work dress, she covered the poor squealing thing. Her old hive wasn't too far off, so that's where she headed. Maybe she could grab something there before word is sent out of her escape.
~-..-~
"Hey, Dolorosa?" a weak voice called out.
"Yes, Kankri?" The Dolorosa responded.
"Could you tell me of how you escaped the brooding caverns again?"
"I told that to you last dawn, silly. Do you want anything for midnight sustenance?"
"No, I was going to get something from Katzen. He likes giving me food, and his lusus is super fluffy!" he exclaimed, telling of the outside wonders.
"Have you been going into other trolls' hives like I told you not to?" she inquired of him.
"No, his lusus just goes outside a lot. She likes to keep track of him, a lot."
"Well, just be careful, and don't wander too far. And don't go outside without me young man." The older troll turned back to the counter putting away some things into her bag.
"Talida says someone else was living in this hive before I moved in. They were wondering what my lusus was," he paused for a second thinking. "Why don't I have a lusus? It seems like ever- allbody I know has some sort of cust- cust- lusus."
"You had it the first time with everybody, and it's custodian, young spurt. You'll get it right next time."
"Well why don't I have one?" Kankri persisted.
"It's complicated. I might tell you when you're older," the Dolorosa explained, not wanting to go through this quite yet.
His face contorts into a frustrated and angry expression, "You've always said that and I want to know now. You said 'when I'm older' a long time ago and now I'm older. I want to know why I'm different!" he shouted, raising his voice beyond a reasonable level.
"Quiet down, you'll disturb the neighbors," she husheed him.
"No, I don't care what they think. Why do we have to keep moving so often? Why do you take care of me instead of a lusus? I want to know why I'm so different!" he exclaimed; bright red tears started to roll down his grey cheeks before he started to bawl. The Dolorosa ran up to him, taking him in her arms and shushing him until he calmed down.
"You really want to know?"
He sniffled a bit, rubbing his nose and then his eyes. "Yeah…"
"Well you're going to need to sit down, and you need to promise that you won't tell anyone no matter what. This is a secret that you need to hold onto for dear life."
"Okay," he agreed half-heartedly.
"Kankri, look at me. Do you want to be culled?"
"Culled?"
"Killed by the drones. Do you want to die?"
"No! That's bad," he stated, looking up at her with his full attention.
"Then you mustn't tell anyone no matter what, do you understand? If you tell anybody what I'm about to tell you, you and I will both get killed."
Kankri stared her in the eye for a minute, letting the weight of what she said sink in. "I promise I won't tell any troll ever."
"Do you still want to know?"
"…Yes."
"Okay, then let's start from the beginning. You have red blood. You've seen it when you bleed. You are the only one with that blood color. No one else on all of Alternia has that blood color-"
"Really?!" he interrupted.
"Yes, really, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. It means that you're different and you don't belong in the empire. They think you're inferior. Now you shouldn't think that because it isn't true, you are just as capable as anyone else. The highbloods don't think that though."
"Who are the highbloods?" Kankri inquired, tilting his head to the side.
"They are the trolls whose blood is blue, purple, or even fuchsia. They live longer, there are less of them, and they are stronger physically. They are the ones that 'rule' the troll empire. They get just about anything they want because in society's eyes they are more competent."
"Competent?"
"Better, can do more. The higher your blood the more you're worth, or the better you are. This is what a lot of people think."
"I've never seen anyone with that color of blood. I've only seen people with dark red or brown blood."
"There are so many more than that, and some are rather pretty. In fact, I do not have red or brown blood."
"What color is it? Let me see!" he shouted, getting excited.
"It's jade green. Not a lot of people have it," the Dolorosa explained.
"Can you show me?" he asked, pointing to her arm.
"Sure, but only a little. It hurts," she stood, grabbing one of her sewing needles and bringing it back to where Kankri was. She crouched down and pricks the end of her finger; a few drops of jade green blood dripped off the flesh wound and onto the floor. Kankri looked up in astonishment.
"Whoa…"
"I know."
"Is that why I don't have a pretty picture either?"
"Pretty picture..? Oh, you mean symbol. Yes, that is why you do not have one. There was no one before you that had such blood, so there was no symbol to pass down to you," the woman explained.
"What's your symbol?" he inquired.
She drew a symbol with three bumps at the top, one at the side, and two hooks at the bottom (the symbol for Virgo).
"Wow."
~-..-~
Both moons were out in the warm night. Kankri was playing with some of the neighbors while the Dolorosa was trimming some bushes in the side lawn ring trying not to be seen. She'd had most of the supplies the two shared packed, as she had for a while. Who knew when they'd have to take up roots and leave.
The two had been at that hive for longer than any other, almost a Perigree to be exact. All the more reason to stay packed, according to her. It was nice to stay in one place for a while, though. Running was tiring, and it's quite amiable to be able to sleep without horrendous nightmares.
It was only four sweeps since the Dolorosa had left the brooding caverns for the sake of this one grub. She missed taking care of the adorable wigglers, but she couldn't stand leaving one to die just because he wasn't normal, just because he was bright red. The empire hardwires injustice from a young age. That was, and still is, unjustifiable.
Ccccrrrraaack! A scream is heard soon after a thud and some rustling. As the Dolorosa looked up, she saw a broken tree limb on the ground with a young troll wailing on top of it. After a moment it registered to her that the injured young troll was none other than Kankri. Within a split second the woman had sprinted across the transportation path and scooped up the poor wailing young one in her arms. There are dribbles of his blood on the tree and scattered all over the ground for everyone to see. The disgrace to society hath been revealed!
This is no time for sarcasm, she thought to herself. The only thing she cared about was in danger. No, the only person she cared about was in grave danger if they didn't get out of there quick. She had to act now.
Before the Dolorosa could even think, she had run into the hive with Kankri in her arms, grabbed her packed bag full of supplies, and left out the back. With no plan of where the two were going or when they would stop, they ventured out into the wilderness.