Karkat tugged the red-gold hood of his coat back on, pulling it as far over his eyes as he could without truly obstructing his vision. His thoughts were racing furiously as he wondered what could have happened. He'd been so careful…

"I swear, you've got the wrong troll!" he shouted as he opened the door, "I swear I haven't fucking killed anyone, let alone someone I shouldn't ha-"

But he could tell by the razor-sharp grin forming on the face of the legislacerator standing in front of him that he had guessed wrong.

"You're definitely not a wiggler, now are you?"

So that was it. Karkat should have known he couldn't get away with living on-planet forever. But there was no way he could have left - he would have had paperwork to fill out for the transport ships; they would have checked his blood… He found himself staring at the red veil sewn into her hood. He'd never seen anything like it before. Could she see through it?

The legislacerator, who was ever so slightly taller than Karkat, whipped out a cane and brandished it at him, the point to his neck. He took a step backward, and she took a step forward. Again, again, until they were both inside Karkat's hive.

She shut the door with her free hand.

Oh, shit.

"Look, nooksniffer, I didn't fucking do anything!" Karkat growled.

There was a momentary slip in the legislacerator's almost predatory confidence. He almost thought he heard her mutter something, maybe "no, you didn't".

She grabbed the folds of fabric covering his neck and pulled him towards her. She seemed to be smelling his face. He wondered why the fuck she was doing that. Was she trying to intimidate him? Somehow this strange behavior seemed oddly familiar…

"Sir, what is your name and blood color?" she asked.

"Karkat Vantas, m-maroon, ma'am." Maroon was a practiced lie for him, but anyone would be nervous under these circumstances, so she had no need to suspect him just because he was becoming anxious, right? Right…?

She sniffed again. "That's hoofbeast shit and you know it. Remove your hood."

Karkat raised his hands slowly. His life, short and mostly miserable, was flashing before his eyes, making it hard to concentrate.

"I said, remove your hood." The legislacerator moved her cane away from his throat and tapped it on the floor impatiently.

Karkat leapt into action. His hands flew to specially reinforced pockets to draw his sickles.

But they were immediately knocked from his grip with a deft swipe of the legislacerator's cane. One sliced his hand on its way to the floor.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.