Run.

Have to run. Have to get away.

Tearing through the underbrush, he felt the sting as unseen thorns tore his grey skin, and he felt the trickle of the thick crimson liquid dripping down his arms. There was a dim light up ahead... he made his way towards it.

Lungs burning as he stumbled into the clearing, he glanced over his shoulder and doubled over, gasping for precious oxygen. The glow of the moons illuminated the foliage and swaying grasses eerily, and all was quiet.

Too quiet.

He heard a branch snap somewhere behind him, and he took off again across the clearing like a bolt, not even bothering to look back.

His eyes watered and his limbs ached, but he had to keep going.

He wouldn't let them take him.

Heels digging into the earth, he skidded to a halt at the edge of the precipice. Squinting down into the murk, he couldn't make out where the bottom was, but he could hear his pursuers getting closer, and closer. Their horrendous growls, whoops, and howls punctuated the otherwise silent twilight air like thunder on a clear day.

They were coming.

They were here.

One of them siezed his shoulder, digging sharp claws into his skin. "Filthy little mutant..." it hissed.

"Cull it," another murmured. "Let's get this over with."

And with one swift movement, it had shoved him towards the edge. He let out a sharp cry as he caught the edge and dangled, suspended in space, hanging on by a few fingers.

He was slipping.

One.

Two.

Three.

He was gone.

Karkat gasped, bolting upright. What a ghastly dream. He mentally cursed himself for falling asleep at his husktop instead of in his recuperacoon, where he should have been. God fucking damn it! That's what the stupid slime pit was for, after all, wasn't it?

Wide awake now and forcing himself to breathe normally, he cautiously slipped out of his husktop chair and poked around in the dark of his block for a cuddle cloth. He usually only used these when he was sick to maintain a healthy temperature, but right about now some comfort would be ideal.

Wrapping himself up in the fuzzy cloth, Karkat then made his way to his kitchen block where he proceeded to boil some water. Some tea was just what he needed right now, to calm down. It might also help if he could vent to someone.

Retrieving his mobile device, Karkat checked his trollian. Only one of his friends was online, but that worked for him. This particular friend, no matter what his stupid, whimsical quirks might be, always made Karkat feel better than all his other friends combined. You wouldn't be hearing that from him, though.

- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]. -

CG: GAMZEE.

CG: GAMZEE YOU'D BETTER RETRIEVE YOUR GODDAMNED HELIUM-FILLED SKULL FROM THE VAPOR FIELDS THIS INSTANT BECAUSE BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WONDER OF FUCKING WONDERS, I ACTUALLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

TC: WhOaAh, MaN, dEsTrEsS yOuR mOtHeRfUcKiNg BrEaStS. wHaT's On YoUr MiNd?

CG: I DON'T FUCKING HAVE BREASTS YOU NOOKSTAIN.

CG: ANYWAY, YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING TO THINK I'M A PISS-PANTS WRIGGLER FOR EVEN DWELLING ON THIS, BUT

CG: I HAD A NIGHTMARE.

- terminallyCapricious [TC] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]. -

Karkat stared at the screen for a moment or two, frozen. That bastard. He didn't even care, did he? Of fucking course not. He was probably too busy ingesting more of that cursed swill or crashing his idiotic one-wheel device to give a damn about his friend's problems.

Sighing softly, Karkat set his mobile device down and poured a mug of boiling water, poking the tea bag down into it and leaning back against the counter to wait for it to steep. Who cared about Gamzee? Karkat could handle his problems on his own like a big boy. He always had, and probably always would.

After the water had turned a rich reddish brown colour, Karkat fished the tea bag out and threw it away. He was just about to rip open a packet of sugar when there was a thundrous pounding at his hive door. He screeched and ripped the packet in a frenzy, spilling sugar everywhere.

"God DAMN it!" he exploded.

Alright, whatever was at his door, be it lusii or troll, was going to be in for it now. Karkat stormed off to his block to retrieve his sickles, just as there was another round of pounding.

Karkat threw his door open, snarling, his sickles raised. He took a deep breath and bellowed, "ALRIGHT FUCKER, YOU WANNA FUCKING GO? LET'S G-" he paused, lowering his sickles a fraction of an inch. "You..."

Gamzee stood towering over him, wearing a concerned look on his painted face. "I ran all the way here, bro..."

Karkat's expression softened a little. "You... What?"

Before Karkat had time to react, Gamzee had captured him in an enormous hug, lifting him several inches off the ground. "I was really motherfucking worried about you. So I all up and ran all the way here."

Karkat squealed irritatedly and squirmed, trying to escape, but the clown's grip only tightened. In the end, the smaller troll huffed and succumbed to the embrace, flushing a faint cherry colour as he hugged Gamzee's neck.

"My tea is getting cold..." he grumbled.

"But do ya feel any better?"

"Much."