First Homestuck fic is a go-go. Totally winging this so let's see how it goes ^^
The invitation that pops up on her Pesterchum comes as such a surprise to Nepeta that she actually takes a few moments to answer it, even if it has – apparently – originated from a certain Vantas troll, and normally she'd pounce on it. Quite literally, if she was in that sort of mood. For a few moments the girl simply sits there, swaddled in blankets and leaning against Pounce with her drawing tablet in her lap, until the streams of grey scrolling across the screen become too much to bear and she decides to put her thoughts in words. Well, text.
CC: HEY.
CC: NEPETA.
CC: ANSWER ME HERE. I GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU.
CC: COME ON, I'M A BUSY LITTLE TROLL HERE.
CC: KARKAT RESORTS TO ROLEPLAYING TO GET NEPETA TO ANSWER.
CC: KARKAT DRAGS HIS SORRY ASS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO HIS HUSKTOP TO CONTACT NEPETA, WHO HE HAS A QUESTION FOR.
CC:: KARKAT BELIEVES THIS IS BULLSHIT.
CC: KARKAT WILL RUN THIS THIRD PERSON SHIT INTO THE GROUND UNTIL HIS ROLEPLAYING ACTIONS ARE FIRMLY EMBEDDED THERE TO BE WEPT OVER.
AC: :33 *ac perks up in an interested fashion!*
CC: OH THANK FUCK. KARKAT WOULD HAVE SMASHED HIS THINKPAN OVER HIS HUSKTOP IF HE HAD HAD TO CONTINUE WITH THAT CHARADE.
AC: :33 h33 h33!
AC: :33 you should really give roleplaying a try karcat
AC: :33 i think you have purrtential
CC: OKAY, OKAY. HANG ON. I'M AFRAID IF THIS CONVERSATION IS GOING TO CONTINUE I'M GOING TO HAVE TO STAGE AN INTERVENTION.
CC: DROP THE CAT PUNS.
CC: CAN YOU IMAGINE IF I WENT AROUND MAKING CRAB PUNS ALL THE TIME?
CC: I WOULD GIVE SOME EXAMPLES BUT JUST TRYING TO THINK OF ANY MAKES THE SPACE BETWEEN MY EARS MELT AND OOZE OUT OF MY SKULL, WHERE IT DRIPS ONTO THE FLOOR AND PROMPTLY COMBUSTS.
AC: :33 if you f33l that strongly i will try to resist!
AC: what was it you wanted to ask me karcat?
AC: :33 *karkat!
AC: :33 *ac slides onto her belly and looks apologetic for the slip up*
CC: KARKAT WILL LET IT SLIDE.
CC: ANYWAY BEING THE SPIC AND SPAN TROLL OF CLEANLINESS THAT I AM I DECIDED IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO CLEAN OUT MY HIVE BEFORE ALL THE CRAP STARTS GROWING LIFE FORMS. PROBLEM IS I'M NOW SURROUNDED BY A TON OF SHIT I DON'T REMEMBER EVER COLLECTING AND CERTAINLY DON'T WANT CLUTTERING UP THIS PLACE I FONDLY CALL MY HIVE.
CC: POINT IS I FOUND A TEA SET AND YOU'RE THE ONLY TROLL I CAN THINK OF THAT EVEN REMOTELY LIKES TEA. DO YOU WANT IT?
A present? From Karkat?! Okay, so technically it's not really a present, more like Karkat trying to shift his rubbish, but even just the small thought that Karkat found something and thought of her is enough to make a light green blush rise to her cheeks. As a giggle rings out through the cave hive Pounce stirs, cat ears twitching at the sound of rushed scribbling as Nepeta begins to answer.
AC: :33 certainly! it will be in good paws!
AC: :33 would you like me to come over and get it?
CC: THAT'S ACTUALLY NOT A BAD IDEA.
AC: alright! i'll set off now then!
AC: :33 s33 you soon karcat!
If Karkat sends any more messages – quite possibly taking offence to the cat puns – they go unnoticed as Nepeta gets up, small giggles escaping from her mouth as she cleaned herself up a little. She's just got back from a hunt, and turning up at Karkat's hive with claws unsheathed and covered in blood wouldn't exactly be the most polite nor appealing of actions.
As she approaches Karkat's hive it suddenly occurs to Nepeta how exactly they're meant to go about this exchange. Will she be invited in? Or will Karkat just shove a box towards her hands and send her on her way? Sadly, knowing the crabby – hee hee – troll, it will probably be the latter. With this in mind Nepeta knocks on the door with a heavy heart, fiddling with the tattered edge of her jacket as she waits. The Alternian night air is cool and crisp, occasionally whipping around her and catching the edge of her familiar blue hat. She's busy tucking strands of dark hair that threaten to explode out from underneath the pelt when the door opens, prompting her to snap to attention. Her eyes are already wide from the shock of being caught fighting the wind as Karkat opened the door, and they widen even more at the sight of the other troll. "K-Karkat!"
She'd been expecting to see the familiar grey jumper and symbol; a comfort to her almost like her hive and lusus. What she had not been expecting was this. The grey jumper has been splashed with colours, large stripes of white, orange and yellow running down his arms and making Nepeta's eyes hurt a little as they all fight for her attention. A startling orange forms the main body of the pullover, forcing the now white symbol to jump out from Karkat's chest. This theme continues up Karkat's body and into his hair, Nepeta noting with some shock that his stubby little horns appear to have been replaced with candy corns in the now light red hair. Cherry red strands explode from his head and stick out in all directions, ruffling even more in protest as the angry wind catches hold of it. Despite all of this, however, among all the splashes of colour and the sudden appearance of candy, the thing that seems most out of place on Karkat is the way his mouth curves upwards into a grin.
"Nepeta!" A hand shoots out to grab Nepeta's, eliciting a small cry of shock from the female troll as she's tugged inside. She only has a few seconds to appreciate the warmth from inside the hive hitting her face before Karkat is moving again, bobbing and weaving around her and making it a little difficult to keep an eye on the tornado of colour. "Fucking wonderful to see you! Let me take your coat-" The shabby green fabric slides between Karkat's eager fingers. "Your hat-" Dark hair spills out over Nepeta's head, forcing her to blink it out of her stunned expression. "-And tea is served!"
"T-tea?" Hundreds of questions running through her mind at Karkat's new appearance and demeanour, and yet the first thing she asked about was tea? Maybe she was just searching for some element of normality. "You mean the tea set? I came to pick it up!"
"Nepeta, you fuckass, where would the fun be in that?" Swear words that would normally be twisted in Karkat's harsh voice come out sugar coated, an happy lilt to them as he takes hold of Nepeta's hand yet again. She can't help but blush as he sweep backwards in a bow before straightening up, eyes sparkling and standing out from his now almost white skin as he leads Nepeta further into the hive. "I was sat here waiting for you to show up, and then my thinkpan turned over on itself with an idea I'm fucking ashamed I didn't think of earlier! My shame runs so deep my descendants will probably have it looming over them in their recupracoons, wailing to them about how fucking stupid I was!" A rather strange sentence, but one that seems to fit in with Karkat's usual style of long insults. "No matter! I've thought of it now so our problems are solved! How about we make this a tea party?"
It's extremely difficult not to get swept away by Karkat's infectious, sugar coated happiness. Nepeta finds herself pouncing on the idea. "A tea party?"
"Yes! You pour the tea in the cups and then you drink it!" A hand meets Nepeta's face as Karkat spins around, grin appearing a little patronising as he claps his hand on Nepeta's cheek. It actually hurts a little, though the small stinging pain is soon forgotten as the offending hand catches hers to spin her around in a twirl. "I've prepared the drinks, but Karkat wishes to know if you would like him to graciously drop a sugary substance into your refreshment?"
"Yes purr-lease! Nepeta would like some sugar! Sugar makes everything sweeter!" She's completely lost now, giddy as she practically bounces along after Karkat. All thoughts of why Karkat is in the state he is are gone, cast away by notes of just how happy he seems to be. The brightly coloured troll has a grin firmly fixed in place as he makes a show of adding sugar, picking up a dainty looking teacup after opening a small packet and flourishing his hand over to item. Nepeta can only assume that he's found all these things while cleaning his hive as she watches a fine white powder drift into her cup, reaching out to close her hands around it as he offers it to her. A small giggle comes from over the rim of the china, Nepeta giving a small sigh as she takes a drink and a warm liquid shoots down her throat. "Wow, Karkat! I didn't think you were one for tea!"
"I didn't think I was one for many things except insults and self-hatred!" The troll seems rather satisfied as he moves back to settle in a chair, candy corns appearing to glint underneath what dim light there is as he takes a sip of his own tea. The cups are only small, meaning Nepeta is left standing with an empty until Karkat gestures to a table. "Please, Nepeta, help yourself to some more tea. I didn't drag my ass through piles of useless crap for you to stand there and stare at the tea to see if it does tricks."
"Alright, Karkat! Here, would you like some more too?" With a small nod Karkat allows a giddy Nepeta to use a slightly dirty teapot to refill his cup, though he shakes his head in a rejection when she makes to put sugar in. Not thinking too much of it she takes some more for herself, a small giggle escaping unbidden from her as she curls up in a spare chair after seasoning her drink. This was like something out of her wildest, soper slime induced dreams – she's sharing a moment with Karkat, one that she will keep and treasure and probably paint on her cave wall later in a secluded place. Getting the colours of Karkat's bright outfit absolutely correct will be a little difficult though. Perhaps if she uses some cow-centaur blood underneath a light she can get the correct colour of orange? She doubts Pounce will let her take some white fur for Karkat's symbol. Oh, forget the colours, the scene itself is what matters the most – her and Karkat, now sharing their fourth cup of tea together in his hive, both of them seemingly flying sky high from the events. Purrfect! It's all she could do not to walk over and curl up in Karkat's lap. He may be on some sort of high, and not seeming like grouchy old Karkat at all, but somehow, Nepeta still doubts he would appreciate that. Still, she finds herself watching him with some longing, though of course whenever his gaze switches to her, her eyes flick away.
By their seventh cup of tea Nepeta is seriously tempted to shrug her shoulders, cry 'fuck it' and curl up in Karkat's lap anyway. Her head is beginning to swim a little, little snippets of the happenings around her occasionally breaking through the haze in her mind. The chink of the teapot against the cups, Karkat's voice adding flowers and sweetness to swear words, her own giggles. Karkat has to repeat his words several times before they actually get through to her. "How are you feeling, Nepeta?"
"Absolutely brilliant!" She seems it, leaning against the table where she's just finished pouring more tea for them both. The sugar packet is completely empty, though she can see two more sitting not too far away. "Thank you for letting me stay, Karkat. This tea set was a brilliant find! I'll be happy to take it home!" She'll have to put it somewhere safe to make sure it doesn't get broken. Nepeta isn't letting any harm come to this souvenir. Although, maybe she won't actually take it home at all? Maybe it'll stay here at Karkat's, and they'll do this more often!
"Strange." That wasn't a word she had been expecting. It causes her to freeze, regarding Karkat's expression of mock concern. Confusion begins to break through the haze in her mind.
"What's strange?"
"That wasn't sugar."
It takes Nepeta a few moments to process Karkat's words, and when she does, she nearly drops her teacup. "N-not sugar?" The drowsiness she's feeling is the only thing keeping her calm as she sets her cup down on the table, eyes wild as she turns to the other troll. "What was it, Karkat?" Worry is melting into terror, Karkat's movements seeming too fluid as he gets up, grin seeming sinister now. The hand that has reached out so many times to her tonight moves out again, pale skin clashing with grey as he gently lifts her chin up. "I thought, well, if we're going to have this tea party, I want to make sure you remember it! This couldn't be your fucking run of the mill tea party, all china and teapots with nothing of substance apart from a shitty brown liquid that oozes into the 'boring as fuck' zone."
"Karkat!" Nepeta's body is shaking, breaths becoming faster and seeming to run in time with the pounding in her head. The trickster is tutting, shaking his head at her in a way that makes Nepeta want to claw the grin off his face in a show of desperate aggression.
"Use your thinkpan, Nepeta! Something you'll remember, something you use every fucking day of your life to wriggle your ass like a cat or talk about tea sets to a troll who has yet to see how fucking messed up he is before he solves all his problems. I didn't set up this tea party in such a way only for you to flip it off and scrabble off laughing into the night!" A laugh. "Come on. Nepeta uses her thinkpan and eventually realises…"
Nepeta feels like she couldn't remember what happened two seconds ago, never mind something she's been using every day. The panic isn't helping, contaminating every thought Nepeta manages to string together. Why would Karkat do this, whatever it is? Her feelings are just as confused, her small hands scrabbling against the surface of the table as she tries to get a grip on the agonisingly smooth surface. "Karkat, this isn't a roleplay! What have you done?"
"Do I have to spell it out like you're a wriggler? Shame on you, Nepeta. A…r…s…e…n…"
It slams into Nepeta then along with the drowsiness, the stunned troll flopping forwards slightly into brightly striped arms. "A-arsenic." She stammers, scrabbling against Karkat's shoulder. He's taken her trollian name and used it against her! Despite the mixture of pure anger and terror she's feeling, Nepeta finds herself almost regarding the blow in some twisted form of appreciation. "Arsenic catnip. Arsenic!"
"Heh. She gets it once, she gets it three times!" Karkat's words are lost on her as her eyes begin to slide shut, breaths slowing down, the panic in her mind doing nothing to wake her up. Karkat's voice is a mumble, and she's not sure if she's just imagining the words. "Have dreams sweet like sugar, Nepeta. You're not going anywhere, after all."