Well I've managed to stick to my once-a-week update schedule for this so far. All the kids have been introduced so it's going back to the Dave-centric plotline it's meant to have.
It's Dave-centric, slow burn DaveKat, but I hope the overarching plot is more interesting than just the shippy aspect (not that that's not awesome too).
Next chapter sees some more of the trolls and the set up for the first arc of the storyline, love you all so much!

The girl in the mirror was not nearly imposing enough for Rose's liking. She had been practising her speech for weeks, and spent all morning looking herself over for signs of weakness. If she could have her way she would use this ritual to make a statement of power, if only to one-up her mother. Her guardian demanded a certain amount of respect and authority where she went, despite her usually inebriated state. Rose wouldn't admit it, but she wanted that same respect from other people. She made another attempt at a strong seating pose, scanning her eyes across her room as if out at a crowd from the throne that would be hers. Really it just left her feeling awkward.

Maybe she wasn't cut out for this after all. There was some time yet to get everything just right, but she wanted to finish knitting John's birthday present and tweak her makeup a little bit. The image of Dave and John being made over brought a smile to her face. The boys were not exempt from wearing makeup and finery today.

If she was honest, she quite liked that aspect of the traditions, and was sort of looking forward to seeing her not-quite brother in lipstick. It was an interesting thought that was for sure.

Now, speaking of lipstick… Reaching into her drawer Rose retrieved her own personal favourite shade - which was a very dark purple bordering on black. She had been made up with a peachy-red shade by her lady in waiting but much preferred a darker look for herself. It contrasted nicely with her skin. Although admittedly sometimes she was jealous of John and Jade's abilities to colour so nicely. She simply burned. Even Dave tanned better than her.

Small annoyances aside, she was pleased with her overall look now. Time to get back to knitting this thing. Her computer pinged, informing her of a new message. She ignored the first, but several followed and she decided that the message was either urgent or required a reply.

- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 10:15 -

TG: hey rose
TG: rose?
TG: seriously throw me a bone here
TG: im freaking out in this purple ass tribute to pope sweet jesus and lord have mercy
TG: if pimps could still do their thang id be up there with the best of them
TT: Dave. I'm not sure why you felt the need to talk to me now of all occasions.
TT: I'm busy, and if I recall correctly, you should be indisposed yourself.
TG: yeah but
TG: ok
TG: what if hypothetically
TG: i think this is all stupidly shit and that the gods dont even exist anyway?
TT: I would say that, hypothetically, your hypothesis is 'stupidly shit' as I've spoken to them myself.
TT: They are interesting.
TT: If a little different to how the scripture describes them.
TG: i still think youre just tripping mad amounts of balls in your dreams
TG: the balls are tripping so hard that they dont even exist in this plane of reality
TG: if the balls were to trip any more they would rip a hole in space time
TG: and suddenly begin to exist
TG: and we would all be like
TG: whoa where did these balls come from why are they just appearing in mid air like that?
TG that would make me have a religious experience unlike any other
TT: Dave. You ramble when you're avoiding things. Go get ready.
TG: i already am
TG: give me some credit wow
TT: Already? There's a joke to be made there about anxiety and coming first.
TG: haha like we werent all thinking that
TT: Yes, but my point still stands. I am busy, I will see you later.

- tentacleTherapist [TT] is now an idle chum! -

TG: rose?
TG: damn it come on

- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 10:25 -

Rose told Dave to leave her alone, how was she supposed to get anything done with him pestering her all morning. It wasn't her fault that he couldn't get past his own issues. On any other day she would enjoy picking apart his conversation for an antagonising game of psychoanalysis bingo but she really did have things she needed to be doing today.

The last few nights had been mostly sleepless, the gods murmuring more loudly than ever. It was beginning to get unsettling, and Rose was unsure if she was really communicating with who she thought it was. She pushed those ideas out of her mind, what else could it possibly be? This was the task she was created for after all.

As time ticked by she found herself becoming increasingly nervous and spared a thought for Dave, whom she knew - though he would never say it - struggled with a rather pronounced form of anxiety. Even without him explicitly saying anything all the signs were there, and it concerned her somewhat. She hoped he would cope alright during their separate pilgrimages. Although, at least he would be mostly alone for that. Whether he felt better or worse when he was alone was not something she knew.

Eventually her lady in waiting came to retrieve her. Rose lived the furthest from the temple, out of the city by a wide margin - okay this was not strictly true. Jade lived much further away, however she had a very direct method of travel by which to get there. The trip, while not extreme, did take over an hour and they would need to leave now to be on time. If there was one thing she would not abide in this situation it was to be being late. She could finish her project on the way there.

Cars were no longer a viable method of travel now that the ability to produce the fuel was gone - and regardless of whether they stockpiled what was left it had a lot of other uses which were more important than depriving someone of exercise. Instead, those who needed to would travel by horseback - Rose had always enjoyed riding, sharing photos with Dave who seemed to enjoy the pastime too. She could never really tell how many layers removed his personal brand of ironic humour was, but she was pretty sure he liked horses. In this instance, however, she would not be riding and would instead be pulled in a carriage. It was a shame, she rather liked the idea of turning up on Maplehoof. Hilarious and genuinely enjoyable at the same time. Of course the tiny horse was really incapable of bearing her any real distance, but she loved it anyway.

The carriage was extravagantly decorated in purples and silvers, designs mirroring her connection to Derse and, she felt, befitting her personal character. Yes, this would suffice. And getting to sit down and finish this present would be a benefit. She spared a thought for the others. Jade would transport herself there and be ready instantly without - if she so chose - even having to look at the gathering crowds. Lucky her.

John would no doubt be asked to walk, he didn't live an appropriate distance for horses and disliked riding them anyway. If he even could. From what Rose could gather, he was unable to ride and had to have another with him any time he went out. That would be embarrassing so walking was probably a blessing in comparison. Dave would be asked to ride, most likely. She allowed herself a pang of concern, he wouldn't like being the centre of attention atop a horse surrounded by all those people. Still, her carriage would probably steal the show and she wasn't sure if she was happy about that herself.

If she could get into that 'power' mindset perhaps she would be okay. Reveal herself dramatically and command the attention of the populace. It was a tall order.

The scenery always filled her with strange feelings. They passed by a strange amalgamation of natural vistas and fields, and run-down cityscapes. It was post-apocalyptic and rustic all at the same time and always filled her with an uneasiness. It was the responsibility of The Four to try and fix things, to get them back to the way they were before by bargaining with the gods. However, the more Rose thought about it, the more she wondered if the way things were before was really a 'fix', or if they would be better off trying something completely different.

The whispers she had heard in her dreams spoke of a reckoning and wars beyond imagining, of the great, magical bark-beast who would disrupt their perfect harmony. Of the downfall of The Four and the rise of The Twelve. The end of the world.

They never specified of anyone's survival or otherwise, or if this was a good or bad thing - whether or not she could attempt to stop it, or if her attempts even had a chance of being successful. The view of the city's great wooden gates snapped her from her thoughts and to the situation at hand.

"Gamzee, Eridan, and Feferi…" she mumbled to herself.

It was going to be a long day.

John spent most of his morning running around trying to burn off some of his excitement. To no avail. It was his birthday, and his joining day, and his coming of age day all in one. There was so much happening in such a short space of time, and suddenly his life was changing in ways he couldn't imagine.

Currently, several servants were rushing about helping him get dressed for the ceremony. Between his dad's insistence on an early birthday celebration before he got too busy, fighting off an ungodly number of cakes, and getting covered in frosting from said cakes, he was a mess and there wasn't much time left to be getting on with things.

His laptop informed him of a message while a girl attempted to shape his hair with some weird clay-type substance. He reached over for it, earning a gasp of disapproval from her as he messed up her technique by moving.

"Hehe, sorry." he apologised halfheartedly. Jade was messaging him. He guessed he could say hi, but it would have to be quick.

— gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 10:20 —

GG: john!
GG: happy birthday! :D
GG: john?
EB: oh hi jade!
EB: sorry i am so busy this morning you would not believe it
GG: im sure i would
GG: we are all very busy remember?
EB: yeah i know, sorry, thanks for the birthday wishes!
GG: youre welcome
GG: i wont bother you for too long
GG: just wanted to congratulate you
GG: and say im looking forward to meeting you for real!
EB: yeah me too! and dave and rose.
EB: oh man it will be so sweet
EB: i cant believe we werent allowed to see each other before now :(
GG: it sucks
GG: but it is almost over now!
GG: i will let you get down to business
EB: to defeat the huns?
EB: hehe
GG: haha
GG: yes
GG: goodbye john!
EB: bye jade!

— gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 10:40 —

It sure was nice of her to remember his birthday, when she had so much going on herself. Speaking of which, it seemed like it was now time for makeup. John pulled a face, having never worn the stuff before and never intending to he was finding it a little weird. At least it would all be coming off soon enough.

He had to give the artist credit though, he was less overdone and more enhanced by the touch ups that had been done here and there. The only thing that was really throwing him off was the peachy pink lip colour.

The girl who had previously been working on his hair came over now with a pot of a blue paint-like substance and drew a stripe across his face, over the bridge of his nose. Roughly, he thought, where the bottom of his glasses would lie if he was still wearing them. They had been removed by the makeup artist.

The only thing keeping him sane through all of the primping and preening was the knowledge that Dave had probably gone through the same thing this morning. He wasn't wrong, even if their overall designs had been different. The Prospit gold of his outfit was at least showing off his tanned skin, which he was glad for. If he had been a Derse dreamer it would have clashed so badly he didn't think he would want to appear at the ceremony at all.

He imagined it suiting Rose and Dave though, they were both pale and he guessed sort of ghost-like in their looks. Especially Rose. Not that her pseudo-gothic style wasn't cool or anything, it just wasn't something that he thought could suit many other people as well as it did her.

It was a pain that he wasn't allowed to wear his glasses, he really did need those to see. Maybe it would make things easier, he might not be able to tell really if people were staring at him. The flower crown was irritating his nostrils and he cursed his allergies for making him want to sneeze. As soon as he was left to his own devices, dressed up and uncomfortable in his formal outfit he swapped out his shiny shoes for some comfortable sneakers. Much better. Those shoes were beginning to rub before he'd even gotten anywhere. How did they expect anyone to walk around in something so awkward?

He laughed to himself, thinking about meeting gods and goddesses and wondering if they would be able to tell if he was a guy. It would be funny to pretend that he was a girl for a bit if they didn't know. From what he could remember, they weren't the same as humans, so maybe they wouldn't? Then again, they did make humans, so really they ought to…

His attention wandered again, and he found himself thinking about the three he'd been allocated, what were their names?

"Terezi, Vriska, and Equius…?" he questioned out loud, he wasn't really sure how to pronounce them properly. Dave had always been better than him at that sort of thing.

John's forte was music and an unbridled optimism about pretty much everything. He wasn't phased by the idea of today's events. He was excited by it, and couldn't wait to play that huge pipe-organ in front of his friends. It would be nice to share that experience with them. Whereas Jade had been plagued by a feeling of change that was negative and the end of something, John's idea of today's change manifested itself as something new beginning and an adventure stretching out in front of them. They would be split up pretty soon after meeting but that wouldn't be an issue. They would stay in contact as always, and once the pilgrimage was over they could all meet back up again.

He was sure of it, there was no way anything could go wrong and stop them from being able to see each other every day.

There was something else he was supposed to do today, what was it…? His eyes wandered to his bedside table, it was blurry on account of his glasses being absent, but he could just about make out a small bottle with a herb inside. Oh yeah, that was it. He was supposed to take this and go to sleep this morning so he could wake up on Prospit. What an idiot!

There was still some time left, he could get in half an hour. Someone would come to fetch him for the ceremony, so he could give himself a little nap.

He wondered if Jade might be there, she spoke about it a lot.

Prospit's outline was golden and brilliant from John's position on its moon. The giant chain anchoring it to the planet's surface stood out like a sore thumb. Jade was nowhere to be seen, but she wasn't in her tower either - so she was awake somewhere. He was taken with a sudden desire to go find her, but remembered that none of them were allowed to meet in person before today. Did it even count in their dreams? Probably not but he wasn't ready to take that chance.

Instead, John spent his dream time exploring his new home from home and getting to know some of the locals. They seemed happy to find him awake, and spoke sometimes of the 'other dreamers'. It was interesting to know that the gods dreamselves lived here too. He resisted the urge to peek in on them too, and spent the rest of his time like this, flying around and chatting to the chess people.

He awoke with a start, to find one of the servants shaking him awake with a stern look on her face. She fussed over his hair and outfit as he clambered to his feet, regarding him with a disapproving look.

"Really, Master Egbert you were just finished getting ready."

"Sorry, couldn't help myself."

She grumbled, but continued with her ministrations before rushing him out of the room and out into the hall.

It was about time he guessed. Bringing himself up to his full height, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the short walk from his home to the temple. All of the staff were present to see him out, as well as his dad. There were no words exchanged, but John was pretty sure he could see a couple of people start to cry. In all honesty, he was trying really hard not to cry too. This marked the start of the rest of his life.

He had a feeling it was going to be a day he would remember for a very long time.

Taking his first step out into the daylight, John smiled, he should be positive. After all. It was his birthday.