Karkat let out a growl, clawing at his handler. The woman with long nails had found him as a child, but horribly mistreated him for 4 years now. Instead of treating him as a troll, she had treated him like a dog. She kicked at him, his small malnourished frame falling to the cold kitchen floor. She let smoke fill the air as she exhaled, putting out the flames of her cigarette on Karkat's arm. He squealed, and she laughed as she dug her high heel into his stomach in reply to his attempts to curl up. She kicked him again, making him flinch and hold his side. "You worthless runt— I'm surprised I haven't given you away long before now. All you do is waste my precious money, and sit around like the pathetic shit you are. You stupid mutant. You aren't even cute." She walked off, and Karkat crawled to hide in a corner. His ribs poked out of his skin— showing his frail frame. His stomach growled, in desperate need of food. He hadn't eaten an actual meal in a long time.

It was no surprise when she decided to abandon him. She put him out on the street, dropping him off somewhere in the city. Karkat scrambled off— the car the woman was in driving off. Karkat looked around with terrified eyes as people walked along— leaving him by himself. He curled up in a ball— terrified. People spat at him and kicked him— seeing his pathetically small horns and scrawny frame. Someone even threw a can at him. His stomach growled once more, and he let out a small whine as it began to rain.

John Egbert, a young man of maybe twenty, walked down the street hurriedly, his hoodie pulled over his head in an attempt to shield himself from the rain, when he heard a small whine from the alleyway he was passing. He stopped and looked down the alley, his curiosity perked, before walking down the alley. 'Was someone hurt or something?' he wondered, looking around before spotting a tiny, trembling little troll curled up in the corner.

Man, he was little, soaking wet clothes clinging to his too-thin frame, and his hair plastered down against his head, exposing a pair of little nubby horns. "Oh…" John breathed before taking a few steps closer to the troll and kneeling down in front of him, still about an arm's length away. "Hey little guy… Come here." he murmured, not wanting to frighten the poor little thing anymore than he already was. He held his hands out, palms up, showing him he didn't intend to hurt him. He'd seen trolls before, but he'd hardly been around them. He knew they could learn to speak, but this one seemed awfully young, so he wasn't sure if he could talk yet.

Karkat looked over to him and tried to squirm away, but he flinched and let out another wine as he had bumped one of his bruises against something behind him. He stared over at John, as if pondering weather or not he should let this new person near him. He curled up some more— wishing he could just make himself disappear somehow. His ears went back, as if he was prepared to be beaten once more.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you…" John said softly. He leaned foreward and reached out, brushing against Karkat's head, petting him a little bit. Wow, he was cold… He should really try to get him home soon and warm him up. By now he was getting pretty wet too, but he couldn't bring himself to care anymore; he was more worried about the little troll pressed up against the corner.

Karkat let out a slight squeak as he was touched, but seeing as he wasn't being hit he calmed down a little. His breath was still shaky though— scared of being abused as he was so used to. He was scared to trust this stranger, seeing that trusting people often let to being hurt.

"Is it alright if I pick you up?" John asked after a moment, once the little one had calmed down a bit from being touched. 'God, he's so skittish… What'd happened to him before to make him like this?' John wondered. He moved a little closer to the small troll, still trying to move slowly to avoid startling him.

Karkat shuffled a bit but didn't move away as John wasn't giving him any signs that he was going to hit him. He glanced upwards a bit but then looked down at the floor, weakly. He couldn't lift his head from the ground anymore— he was just so exhausted…. His eyes began to close, but he forced them open to keep an eye on John. Even then, they began to close again.

John stroked the small troll's hair again, before moving closer to him, so he could pick him up. "I'm gonna pick you up now, alright?" John asked as he gently slid his hand under the little troll and lifted him up, holding him close to his chest. He wasn't sure if he even understood him, but being slow and deliberate like this should help him understand, right? Even if the little one didn't want him to, he needed to get him inside and dried off. John stood up, cradling the small troll in his arms, and walked out of the alley.

Karkat was too weak to fight back— although being picked up really scared the wits out of him. Despite it all, he clung on tightly to John's shirt and shivered in the cold. He sneezed lightly, and closed his eyes as his mind began to drift off… His shivers died down as he began to fall asleep. He didn't weigh much, considering how thin he was.

John walked down the sidewalk quickly, wanting to get home as soon as he could. He ignored the looks that passerby were giving him, and was soon home, at his little apartment. He shifted so he was holding the troll- his troll? With one arm, while he grabbed his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. John walked inside, kicking his shoes off as he walked over to the couch, where he sat down and gently tried to pry the sleeping troll, who was still clinging to him, off of his shirt.

Karkat began to stir once more, letting go of John's shirt to curl up again. He did that often, as it seemed that he needed to defend himself from something often. He covered his head as he awoke, looking around the room cautiously. He looked rather distressed and confused around these new surroundings. He curled up a bit more —if even possible— with a soft growl.

"It's okay little guy." John said with a small smile, putting his hand on the troll's head and giving his hair a little ruffle. "Let's get you out of those wet clothes though, okay? You need to take a bath." he explained to him, before moving his hand back to rub behind his little nubby horns- he'd heard once that trolls liked being petted there.

Karkat stiffened a bit but let out a soft purr as he was pet. He uncurled a bit, seeing as John wasn't being aggressive towards him. He wiped at his eyes, looking over to this strange new person. He pawed at him a bit— curious about him.

John chuckled as the little troll pawed at him, and looked down at him with a fond smile. "My name's John. And you? Do you have a name?" he asked as he continued to rub him behind his horns gently, seeing as that's what'd gotten him to finally relax. He'd noticed that the troll's tears were a bright red; now, he knew it depended on their blood color, but, weren't all the colors that a troll's blood could be supposed to be pretty dark?

Karkat continued his soft purring, his ears perking back up to listen in on his surroundings. "Karr-katt" he says, although his speaking pattern was very off, and his pronunciation was strange. He replied in a very low tone- as if he would be yelled at for speaking any louder.

"Karkat?" John asked, unsure if he heard him right. He was so quiet, not to mention the way he'd said it. "Well Karkat, let me take those wet things off you, okay? I'm sure it can't be comfortable." He said. He stopped petting Karkat and instead hooked his fingers under the hem of the shirt the troll was wearing. "Heh, arms up, please."

Karkat looked up to him, continuing to be wary. He did what he asked without questioning him, although he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do. The word 'Bath' was not in his vocabulary. His previous owner had always taken him and put him down in a bucket full of bleach- watching him squirm and cry out as it soaked into his cuts, which were sometimes still bleeding when she did so. Because of this he had grown a fear of buckets, not to mention a fear of bleach. She loved to hurt him in many cruel ways, and just remembering her disgustingly long nails made him squirm. His mind returned to the present, looking up to John with a mix of both trust and uncertainty.

John pulled the soaking wet shirt over Karkat's head, careful not to let it catch on his ears or horns, and winced when he saw how skinny and cut up he was. No matter what, John decided, he was going to keep him; there was no way he'd ever let Karkat go back to someone who'd done this to him. "Alright, pants off too; can you take them off yourself?" he asked quietly, reaching over to give Karkat another little rub just behind his horns, since he'd seemed to like it so much the first time.

Karkat took them off on his own, and once the turtle neck was off you were able to see the collar that his previous owner had put on him. It was a prong collar, which meant it had spikes along the inside of it that dug into his neck. His previous owner must of hid it using his turtleneck sweater, so that people on the streets would not question her about it. Karkat's legs were covered in bruises and cuts as well— and he was generally a huge mess. He pressed his legs to his chest, curling up again. He purred softly when John began to pet him once more.

"Here, let's get that off you." John muttered. He stopped petting him and unhooked the collar. He took it off of him slowly, careful not to let it hurt the little troll anymore than it already had. Once it was off, he got up off the couch and picked Karkat up again gently, almost afraid he'd hurt him on accident. He carried Karkat into the bathroom and set him in the tub before putting the stopper in and turning on the water; warm but not too hot. "Just tell me if the water's too warm for you, okay?" John said, grabbing a washcloth from the hanger in the shower, before kneeling down next to the bath tub.

Karkat whined as he took the collar off, feeling the metallic prongs dig out of his neck. He reached his hand up to touch the bloody spots from where the pongs had gripped into him. He looked around when he was set into the tub, whining some more and gripping onto John before he realized the water didn't hurt or sting him. He let himself settle down inside, touching at the bottom of the tub curiously.

"See, its okay, water's not gonna hurt you." John said with a small smile when Karkat clung to him. He dipped the cloth in the warm water, before grabbing the bottle of body soap and pouring a little of it onto the washcloth. "Sorry, this might sting a little, but I'll try to be gentle." He said as he started running the washcloth over Karkat gently, trying to avoid touching any of the cuts that hadn't scabbed over yet. While he washed him, his other hand rested on Karkat's shoulder lightly, to keep him still.

Karkat whined a bit, the soap lightly stinging at some of his cuts, and he squirmed a bit as he was washed. He licked at the soap in an attempt to get it off of him, but immediately swatted at his tongue to get rid of the taste, which he obviously didn't like. He let John wash him, before he decided it would be fun to try and catch the washcloth as he was being washed. He swatted at it, amused, and tried to catch it.

John chuckled quietly when Karkat licked at the soap. "No, the soap's not to eat." He reprimanded lightly, before holding the washcloth up, letting Karkat play with it, before handing it to him. He was pretty much cleaned off anyway, might as well let him have some fun. John grabbed the bottle of shampoo from the side of the tub and poured a little into into his palm. He set the bottle down, before leaning forward to start rubbing the soap into Karkat's hair. "Close your eyes, this stuff hurts if it gets into them." He warned as he ran his fingers through the small troll's short black hair.

Karkat closed his eyes, letting John wash out his hair. He clung to the soft cloth in the hands, rolling it around in the water. He found it rather calming somehow, it took his mind off of all his past experiences. He shuffled his feet around, grumbling to himself despite not being able to talk very well.

John finished soaping up Karkat's hair, and took his hands away from his head. "Heh, what'cha saying little guy?" he asked as he listened to Karkat grumble to himself. He cupped his hands and dipped them in the tub, letting the fill up with water before lifting them up and pouring the water over Karkat's head to wash out the soap. He did that several times, until the soap had been washed out of his hair completely. He turned off the water, since it was up to Karkat's waist, and just let him play in the water for a little bit.

Karkat curiously opened his eyes, running at them. He touched his neck again, which was still hurting from the collar. He traced over one of the bloody spots lightly, wincing and pulling his hand away. He splashed in the water, finding it amusing. He shuffled his paws a bit, lightly grabbing at them like a child would. Afterwords, he went back to playing with the water. He let out a soft "hrrrrr~" as he played with the water, obviously pleased.

John smiled and let out a soft chuckle as Karkat played with the water. He stood up, eyeing the bloody spots on the trolls neck; he'd need to bandage those up once Karkat was dried off. Speaking of which; "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get a towel to dry you off." He said before walking out of the bathroom. Karkat was young, but it was just a few inches of water; he should be okay by himself for a minute.

Karkat, seeing John leave the room, stood up, curiously. He tried to climb out of the tub, although it was hard. He almost got out before he slipped, falling back into the water and hitting his arm, which made him let out a large whine. He sat up against the side of the tub, holding his shoulder. He saw the washcloth float about and snatched it once more with his other hand, clinging onto it and hugging it to his chest.

Upon hearing Karkat whine, he grabbed a fluffy blue towel and quickly walked back to the bathroom. "You okay?" he asked as he walked over to the tub, noticing that Karkat was sitting against the side of the tub and holding his shoulder. He leaned over and scooped Karkat up in the towel, being careful not to touch his shoulder. "Did you bump your shoulder?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the tub, setting Karkat in his lap, and started drying him off.

Karkat nodded in reply, rubbing at his shoulder a bit. Being covered in bruises and cuts, and then getting hurt… He shuffled his feet around, not letting John touch his pawfeet at all. Despite everything, his feet were quite ticklish. He grabbed at the towl, confused by how fluffy it was. He tried to say something, but it didn't seem much like a word. "Rabbles :I "

"Huh? What's that?" John asked as he continued to try to dry him off, though he eventually just settled for letting Karkat hold the towel around himself once he grabbed it. He honestly had no idea what Karkat was attempting to tell him, though he was sure he could figure it out, eventually.

Karkat kept trying to say it, although in the end he just held up the towel. He forgot what it was called, so he tried to call it something similar. Karkat pulled the towel over himself, nuzzling it a little. It was soft and warm… He hugged it to himself, enjoying it. He purred a little, too.

"Oh, the towel?" he asked, watching as Karkat nuzzled the blue towel. God he was cute. 'What kind of terrible person would want to hurt him?' John wondered sadly. He picked Karkat up again and carried him to the bedroom. John set him on the bed, still wrapped in the towel, before going over to his dresser and rummaging through the drawers, trying to find a t-shirt small enough for Karkat to wear.

Karkat snuggled up to his soft bed, hugging the towel and curling up with it around him. He squirmed a bit until he became comfortable, falling asleep. In his dream, the woman with long nails dragged him away, putting the collar back around him and painfully yanking on his leash. He could almost feel the cold steel ripping through him, and jolted awake with a loud squeal.

John had just found a shirt for him, one that had gotten shrunk in the wash last month, when Karkat squealed. He rushed over to the bed and sat down next to him, before pulling Karkat up into his lap, towel and all. "What's wrong Karkles?" he asked worriedly, cradling the frightened troll gently, the t-shirt tossed aside on the top of the dresser.

Karkat whined, clinging to John's arm as he picked him up. His long ears pointed downwards, showing how scared he was. He whimpered, shaking in John's lap. "….S…..sharrp…." he managed to say. He tried to cover his neck, as if it were something to be ashamed of. He curled up again, hugging John's arm a bit tighter. "…et hurrts….."

"Shhh, it's okay, you're safe now, don't worry…" John said softly as he held him close, rocking him a little bit. "It hurts? Come on, we're gonna get you dressed, and then I'll patch those up for you. Sound good?" he asked, looking down at Karkat with a small, reassuring smile. He ruffled Karkat's hair a little, though it was still a bit damp, before gently putting his hand over Karkat's tiny one that was trying to cover his neck.

Karkat got up and lay his small head against John's chest, letting his whimpering die down. He pressed himself against him, nuzzling him like a child. He pulled up his towel as well, which he used to try and cover his neck with. He didn't like for his neck to be showing. He shuffled a bit after calming himself down, closing his eyes once more.

"It's okay, you don't need to cover those up." John said and got up after a few moments, Karkat still cuddled in his arms. He walked over to the dresser and pried him off of his shirt before setting him down on the dresser. John grabbed the shirt he'd found for Karkat and held it up for him to see. "Can you put this on, please?" he asked. "Then you can get some rest while I change into some dry clothes too."

Karkat reached for the shirt and put it on, although he wasn't exactly quite sure how. After some scrambling, he managed to get it on, but he had put it on backwards by mistake. He grumbled to himself for a bit, knowing the shirt felt strange on him somehow… He looked over to John, as if he would know. He let out a questioning "Hrrrr~?" sound.

"Heh, it's on backwards." John noted with a small chuckle before he helped Karkat fix the shirt so it was on the right way. The shirt went down to his knees, but the rest of it seemed to fit pretty well. That would have to do until he washed Karkat's other clothes and went shopping for some more stuff for him tomorrow. Once he was dressed, John picked Karkat and his towel up and carried him back to the bed, setting him on it gently.

Karkat rested his head against John, feeling his mind begin to drift off into sleep once more. This time however, it wasn't a nightmare. Karkat had a peaceful look on his face, becoming limp in John's arms. Before he was set on the bed, he had fallen asleep. His breathing was soft, and he sounded relaxed. His hair softly fell over his face, adding to his innocent expression. He let out a very faint, yet audible purr as he dreampt.

John smiled as he laid Karkat down on the bed and pulled the covers over him. 'Poor little guy, he must be exhausted…" he thought, looking down at the sleeping troll for a moment before reluctantly turning and going back over to his dresser. He took out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and changed into them quietly, tossing his wet clothes in the hamper that sat in the corner of the room.

Karkat turned about in his sleep— his arms managing to find a pillow, as he quickly curled himself around it with a light purr. He hugged it tightly, rubbing his cheek against it a little. He looked so comfortable like that, although he didn't move around much afterwords.

Once he was dressed, John looked back at Karkat before walking over to his desk and sitting down in front of the computer. He turned it on, and once it had booted up, he opened up internet explorer as well as the chat application that he and his friends used. Maybe they knew more about how to take care of baby trolls, and doing some research on the internet would certainly yield –some- results, right?

-END OF CHAPTER 1-