By the time Karkat had finished his story and the two had returned to the temporary camp, everything had been taken down and the others were waiting on them. Karkat spotted Nepeta and the Disciple in the back talking together. He decided he would just avoid her for now.
The adults talked for a few minutes before they headed out. Their packs were floating behind them, being held up by the Psiioniic's powers. The trip was a quiet one. They had split into two groups, the adults in front leading the way and the younger ones following behind. It wasn't a good silence. The tension from Nepeta's freakout still hung between them. Karkat could hear the older trolls, namely the Signless, talking in front of them. He was telling them what Karkat had told him earlier. Karkat was going to have to talk to his little gang soon enough too. Gog.
"freaky riight?" a voice sounded next to his ear. A voice that could only belong to Sollux.
"WHa-? YEAH." Karkat answered with a laugh. Sollux was right on the mark. This was the freakiest thing that had ever happened to him. And he had lived in paradox space for almost 2 sweeps.
"ii can tell. you've been quiiet lately. 2omethiing wrong?" He glanced over at the red blooded troll. Karkat let out a laugh at that. Which for him was actually just a chuckle.
"WHERE SHOULD I BEGIN?" Actually, where would he begin? Sollux had inadvertently given him the perfect excuse to tell them and he was going to take it. Or at least he planned to when Nepeta tugged on his sleeve. Sollux took his que and fell back to talk to Kanaya. Karkat wasn't that lucky.
Nepeta looked at him with a small and guilty smile. "Um... Karkitty? Can I talk to you?"
Immediately Karkat put his grumpy face on. "YOU MIGHT AS WELL. YOU'RE ALREADY HERE." Nepeta merely shook off his tone, like always, and moved up so she was walking in step with him.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for yelling at you... I was just really worried about Equius." She didn't look at him while she spoke. Rather she stared at the sand at her feet, her emotions written all over her face. Karkat couldn't help but soften up a bit. It was really hard to stay angry at Nepeta.
"IT'S FINE I GUESS." He said quickly. His own guilt made him keep talking, even though he really didn't want to. "HEY. I'M SORRY I WAS SUCH A BLITHERING ASSHOLE TO YOU..." He choked out, suddenly finding the same fascination with the sand Nepeta had just a few moments ago. She didn't say anything for a long time and he was almost afraid she wouldn't forgive him. When he glanced up at her though she launched herself at him, purring loudly. The two almost fell over but Karkat managed to stay on his feet. Nepeta could pack a punch but she was still pretty light. He let out a nervous whine when he looked up and spotted the Signless and the Disciple watching them from over their shoulders. Nepeta immediately let go when he did this. She was pawsitivly ecstatic.
"Thank you so much Karkitty! Equius was so wrong about you!" She chirped before latching onto his side yet again. Oh great. What was that guy saying about him? He could only wonder. Sollux laughed behind them and Kanaya watched them with warm eyes. Karkat could feel his face getting hot under their looks. He carefully peeled the purring girl off of him and stopped to let Kanaya and Sollux catch up to them. Nepeta bounced patiently by his side.
Sollux looked like he was about to say something sarcastic but Karkat cut him off. "WE NEED TO TALK."

WW=WW=WW=WW=WW=WW

Eridan stood stiff at the front of the ship. His ancestor, Dualscar, stood beside him relaxed but with an undisputed air of authority. The young violet blood was honored to stand beside him, he looked up to the other troll, but at the same time he knew if he dropped his guard around him he was as good as dead. The seas of Alternia were sliced easily by the hull of the boat. Gog he missed it. If he ever set foot on another astroid again, he'd save Kan the trouble and cut himself in half. Dualscar rested a hand on his shoulder and he felt him go perfectly still. He could still feel the point of the spears digging into his skin as he talked his way out of getting culled in the middle of Dualscar's captains' courtiers. For now he was safe, Dualscar's new apprentice, but who knew how long that would last.
"Wwe'll reach the next port towwn in three days." His hand moved to the back of Eridan's neck. The younger troll grid his teeth as his ancestor dug his nails into the soft skin. "Be prepared. I'd like to showw you off." With a flutter of his cape, he turned to return to his chambers. Eridan didn't dare even breath until he was sure Dualscar was good and gone.
With a sigh he rubbed his sore neck. He leaned against the railing and stared at the crystal clear waters turn to white foam as the ship travelled across the waves. He knew there were sea dweller cities and, not for the first time, he wished he had woken up there rather than on the deck of the Orphaner's ship. "If only you wwere here fef..." He sighed. "Then wwe could givve that glubberfuck wwhat he deservves and get the hell out of here." He could almost see her face in the white. Beneath the sound of the waves, it almost seemed as though he said 'and then I could make things right'.

69~69~69~69~69~69

They had spent the trip talking, both the adult and younger trolls. Now they had set up their temporary camp and were sitting around the fire, planning out what to do next. The others didn't like it when Karkat told them that he'd told the Signless everything. Sollux claiming that things could get more fucked up from here and Kanaya pretty much agreeing with him, though she used different words. When he told them what he had seen, he had expected them to think he was crazy. Sollux saw stuff. Aradia saw stuff. He did not see stuff. But they were pretty accepting of it. His worry was unnecessary. Nepeta just kept quiet through most of it, looking worried. **** if he knows what was going on in her head. The adults seemed pretty accepting of the younger trolls as well, if not a bit spectacle of what this would mean. He was so glad the Signless had told them not him. It was still unbelievably weird being around adults and he really wasn't sure if he could have told them. The only one he had actually talked to so far was the Signless.
They were discussing Aradia right now but no one knew where to look. He didn't know where to look. And then there was still the matter of Equius. Assuming he was even here. And if he was here, did that mean that the others were here too? And what about the humans that were with them? What had happened to Dave and Rose? It felt like his head was going to explode with all these ifs. "I Think The Best Choice Of Action Would Be To Gather More Information." Kanaya was saying. The others seemed to agree with her well enough.
"We should arrive at the next town sometime early tomorrow evening." The Signless answered. "We can ask around there. See if anyone has seen any young trolls that match the description." The others nodded. "I didn't plan to but if we're going to be there for a few days I could go ahead and preach." This was more for the adult trolls. The Dolorosa didn't like this idea.
"Are you sure? It's so close to the port cities. I wouldn't be surprised if there were highbloods around there with your name on their list." She was obviously worried. Couldn't blame her though. If they were that close to the ports, there could be a serious issue.
"That town is big enough that a young troll could easily get lost. It's going to take at least a few days to find out if one of their friends is there or not. If I preech there, it'll give them the time they need and we'll still be doing something productive." He countered. He was right too. The Psiioniic and Sollux had been quiet for most of the conversation, as though they were thinking about something.
"I have a bad feeliing about that place." The Psiioniic said, pulling attention away from the Signless. He and Sollux shared the same grim expression.
"We'll be careful." Signless answered. The Psiioniic almost seemed to grin at him.
"I can't talk you out of this, can I?"
The Signless grinned. "Nope."