Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the previous chapters. The grammar is terrible, the spelling is wrong in a lot of places and I was repetitive for some reason or another. I write these chapters infrequently, so sometimes I forget what I've done if I start up again. I'll go back and correct the chapters when the story is finished.
Eridan Ampora woke. His neck and back felt a little stiff and he felt a little fuzzy-headed. He couldn't help but feel out of place. Shaking his head to clear out the fuzziness, the seadweller tried to stretch out but stopped when he noticed the dead weight on top of him squirm and mewl at the movement. Nepeta Leijon was sitting on his lap, curled up and head nuzzling into his chest just above the sopor. It suddenly made sense why his neck was so stiff; he was sitting with his back against the rim of the recuperacoon.
Surprisingly, he wasn't the least bit flustered at the situation. He felt warm in his chest, like a soft glow. She was so peaceful and at ease, purring contently and probably not the slightest bit aware of the position they were in. Eridan wanted to stay like that, he really did, but his neck was beginning to cramp up and he didn't want Nepeta to wake up, see how they were situated, see he was already up and assume he had shifted her into place while she slept. That would be awkward. So he gently, slowly pushed her off of his lap and into deeper sopor slime. As he stood, her head went under and gurgling ensued. Panicking, Eridan quickly jumped out of the recuperacoon, landing on the ground just moments before Nepeta's head rose above the surface of the slime, coughing and sputtering. She leaned over the rim and coughed until her throat was clear, sounding for all the world like a cat hacking up a hairball. Eridan cringed at her less-adorable feline mannerism.
"Sorry, did I wwake you?" Eridan asked nonchalantly.
"Ugh. Maybe." Nepeta rubbed her head. She accidently got some slime in her. That was just great. "I just fell into the sopurr slime."
"That sucks." Eridan laughed humorlessly before changing the subject, "Do you mind if I get my ablutions ovver first?"
"Go ahead." Nepeta crawled out of the recuperacoon, rolled over the rim and rolled onto the floor. She didn't seem to mind in the slightest, "I need to clear my head for a bit anyway."
Eridan stayed and watched for a little bit, worried, but left for the ablution chamber. Equiping his glasses helped clear some of the morning fuzz away as everything suddenly popped out in proper detail. He hadn't asked for directions, but he had seen the direction Nepeta went for the ablution chamber and noticed that the cavern was segmented and set up into distinct chambers. If he checked each of them, he'd eventually be able to find the one he was looking for.
"Wwhat in the brine-suckin fuck is a "OTP"?" Eridan muttered to himself after checking a particular room.
Drawn in by the use of romantic symbols and dozens of paintings on the cavern walls. He quirked an eyebrow. So this was the (in)famous shipping wall of Nepeta Leijon. Looking behind him to make sure no one had followed him, he began to look at the wall. The dominating picture of Nepeta and Karkat making out with dozens of hearts around them made Eridan scowl, so he ignored it and focused on the others. He was unnerved to see himself and all eleven of his closest friends in multiple possible pairings in every quadrant with notes and observations attached to each. The sheer magnitude of Nepeta's work was awe-inspiring, of course, but also a bit creepy. It also didn't help that everything on the walls was drawn with blood or some other improvised paint. The smell was tolerable, but contributed to the unsettling atmosphere.
Eridan ignored all of this and searched for himself. He found his columns and was eager to see who Nepeta thought he'd be best with. He frowned to see that she had paired him with Vriska as a great caliginous pairing. Pouting, he looked through his other quadrants for top suggestions. Feferi was his moirail, though there weren't many notes for why that should be, which actually frightened the seadweller. In his ashen quadrant, Nepeta seemed to push for Kanaya acting as his mediator. His brow furrowed when he saw Kanaya was also the top choice to fill his flushed quadrant.
"Cod, Nep." he muttered under his breath in frustration, "Wwe're just friends." Turning to leave the shipping wall and return to his original destination, he stopped short when he saw Nepeta standing a few feet behind him. "Hopy shit!"
"Sorry! I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that." Nepeta apologized, "I thought you were going to the ablution champurr?"
"I got distracted." Eridan said, gesturing to the wall behind him, "Did you paint all a that yourself?"
"Y-yeah." Nepeta smiled, blushing slightly. Her shipping wall was something of a rumor amongst her friends and she figured everyone thought negatively of it, "Do you like it?"
"Wwell, I'm not too frond a most a my top quadrants, but it shore is impressivve." Eridan admitted with a grin.
"Really?!" Nepeta brightened considerably. Sure she had hoped for a compliment, but she hadn't expected she'd get one so easily - especially from Eridan. She calmed herself a little as she remembered something, "It's a work in purrogress. I was actually going to make some changes while you were doing your ablutions."
"Wwhat kind a changes?" Eridan asked, surprised.
"Well... Mostly updating your quadrants." Nepeta laughed nervously, aware that that was a touchy subject.
"Oh." Eridan looked a little sad, but quickly put on his typical expression and straightened up, "Anywway, I'vve got ablutions to take." Nepeta nodded and stood aside so Eridan could pass.
After he left, Nepeta turned her attention to the shipping wall with a frown. She had always been a tad embarrassed of her life's work, especially her OTP picture. Due to recent changes, the OTP drawing had gone from a constant source of heart-flutters to a glaring reminder of shame and heartache. She would have to take it down, clear her head and try to devise a new OTP. Maybe she should look to one of her other quadrants instead? Her pale quadrant was perfect. Ashen-wise, she could probably find two of her friends to mediate between, though it seemed unlikely. She rarely hated anyone, let alone romantically.
Sighing, the catgirl troll began painting over the drawing of her and Karkat. Within a few minutes of laying down broad strokes, the painting disappeared beneath a layer of paint that matched the cavern walls. Nepeta stepped back and admired the wall. Blankness stared at her where her most prized pairing had stood. Her heart ached slightly at the sight, but it had dulled considerably. Where there was once a searing, tear-inducing pain, there was now a hollow sense of loss. This new feeling, although not as potent, permeated her being dramatically. It cut deep into her heart and stayed there, not making her cry but ruining her usually-chipper demeanor.
She focused on adjusting Eridan's caliginous quadrant. Sollux had griped about Eridan in the past, and Eridan never spoke highly of the hacker, so she figured that that pairing had the best chance at black feelings. After doodling Sollux into Vriska's place, Nepeta smiled, already feeling all the spades in the air and imagining the passionate hate the two trolls would share. Of course, there was no guarantee that they would ever meet up or duel, let alone fill a pail, but the idea of romance and passion always appealed to Nepeta and she loved indulging her fantasies. But there was still the matter of finding a new OTP to fill in the glaring blankness on her wall. She couldn't find herself being passionate about any other pairing.
The hushed roar of water had stopped from the ablution chamber, signalling that Eridan was done. Nepeta looked down at herself and cringed. She was wearing old, dirty clothes that now had a fresh coating of blood and paint and sopor smeared over them. A feeling of self-loathing began to claw at the back of her mind. She was a filthy, cave-dwelling troll that acted like an animal; no wonder Karkat didn't like her. She saw a drop of olive liquid hit her hands as she stared at them and realized she was crying. She heard approaching footsteps and quickly tried to wipe the tears away, turning towards Eridan as he walked in and putting on a fake smile.
"Hey Ampurra!" she beamed. His clothes, even though he had worn them the day before, were neat and clean, his scarf and cape resting around his shoulders regally.
"Hey Nep..." Eridan replied hesitantly, wondering why her face was smeared with blood. Normally it would disgust him, such a feral thing, but something about blood on her face was enticing. Actually, it made him smile.
"I should purrobably take my ablutions now." Nepeta said, beginning to head that way.
"Probably." Eridan shrugged, "By the wway, Nep, this wwas fun. Wwe should hang out again sometime."
"Really?" Nepeta turned her attention back to the seadweller, surprised he'd want to hang out with her again. Even if he was trying to use her to fill his quadrants, it was thanks to her that he lost his ship, his crew and their respect. Then, suspicious, she asked "Why?"
"I knoww I said an did some things yesterday that wwere questionable an suggestivve, an I still apologize for stealin your first kiss an all, but to be honest, I reelly like hangin out wwith you." Eridan explained, "I also havven't hung out wwith anyone this long besides Vvrisk an Fef or my creww."
"We've only hung out a few hours." Nepeta pointed out.
"Yeah..." Eridan coughed in his hand. Yet another awkward silence followed before Nepeta perked up.
"I like your idea." the catgirl remarked, "I haven't hung out with any other troll this long, either."
"Uh, cool." the violet-blood smiled, "Maybe wwe should do somethin you'd like to do, since my thing... didn't go so wwell."
"Uh... sure." Nepeta smiled, but looked down in concentration. Few people had hung out with her, and besides Equius, there was no one that asked what she wanted to do. She wasn't used to making such a decision; after all, what did she do that Eridan liked to do? "We could go on the hunt!" she suggested, hands poised like claws and teeth bared. To her surprise, Eridan smiled.
"That sounds great, actually."
"Fur real?" Nepeta was flabbergasted.
"A course." Eridan nodded, "I hunt lusi all the time to feed Fef's lusus."
"Oh yeah." Nepeta vaguely recalled him saying something about that. A new, more worrisome thought occurred. "What about Fef's lusus? If you're gone, won't she... glub?"
"Nyeh, I wwouldn't wworry about it." Eridan waved a hand dismissively, "Fef can hunt a feww lusi herself wwithout my help."
"If you say so, you're purrobably right." Nepeta smiled, "When do you want to do it?"
"Today, actually." Eridan smirked.
"That's right... I furgot you're stuck here fur a few days."
"I hope it's not too much a a burden." Eridan said, though his suggested he didn't care one way or the other.
"It's not, I purromise!" Nepeta said, "I'm going to take my ablutions now."
"Alright. Oh, an Nep?"
"Yes?"
"Do you mind if I use your husktop reel quick to check my Trollian?" Eridan asked, "I doubt anyone tried to talk to me, but, you nevver knoww."
"Sure thing, Eridan!" Nepeta beamed, secretly relieved. She was worried that he might try to sneak a peak of her while she was in the chamber, but was grateful that Eridan's character held truer than she originally thought. Then she felt slightly ashamed for doubting her friend.
After Nepeta left for her ablutions, Eridan readied Nepeta's husktop and logged into his Trollian. There were no new messages for him, unsurprisingly, but several of his friends were logged on. Eridan figured he'd talk to his moirail first, seeing as he had a lot on his mind at the moment.
caligulasAquarium began trolling cuttlefishCuller at 11:39
CA: hey fef you there?
CC: -ERIDAN! 38D
CC: I've been looking -EV-ERYW) (-ER-E for you!
CA: yeah sorry about that
CA: ivve been hangin wwith nep
CC: You took my advice 38O
CA: yeah wwhy wwouldnt i?
CC: I'm just surprised you actually went t) (roug) ( wit) ( it is all.
CC: You never were muc) ( for socializing 38/
CA: yeah dont remind me
CA: by the wway i could use some advvice
CC: O) (?
CA: last night i got throwwn off a my owwn ship for defendin nep
CC: O) ( my glub!
CC: T) (at's ) (orrible!
CA: yeah no shit
CA: an that aint evven the part i need advvice about
CA: i swwam nep back to land an she carried me to her hivve
CA: through an awwkwward string a evvents i wwon't go into detail on, wwe shared a recuperacoon wwearin her boxers
CA: oh an i stole her first kiss
CA: fef?
CA: you still there?
CC: Sorry, I'm just... so OV-ERW) (-ELM-ED rig) (t now.
CC: T) (at's a lot to process. You stole ) (er first kiss?!
CA: wwell i didnt knoww it wwas her first kiss!
CA: an besides she said she liked it
CC: 38O
CA: not only that but she wwants to hang out again
CA: wwe're supposed to be goin on a hunt later tonight
CC: O) ( my glub, I'm so ) (appy for you! 38)
CC: You two are going on a date!
CA: wwhoa wwait a minute
CA: wwhat makes you think this is a date
CC: Eridan, you just told me you gave up your s) (ip for ) (er, STOL-E ) (er first kiss, s) (ared a recuperacoon and s) (e still wants to ) (ang out wit) ( you 38/
CC: I'm PR-ETTY s) (ore t) (is counts as a date 38P
CA: oh cod i think you might be right
CA: oh shit wwhat do i do?
CC: W) (y are you freaking out? I t) (oug) (t t) (is is w) (at you wanted?
CA: wwell yeah kind a
CA: only i wwasnt expectin it to go quite so
CA: im not evven shore wwhat to call this mess a fuckall
CC: -ERIDAN! Relax and be yourself.
CC: You've made QUIT-E a few positive c) (anges in t) (e past two days, and clearly Nepeta likes t) (e new you.
CC: Just follow t) (e course your swimming and I'm s) (ore everyt) (ing will turn out perfect 38D
CA: thanks fef
CA: youvve helped put my think pan at ease for a feww
CC: Anytime 38)
CC: By t) (e way, could you bring back some of w) (at you find on your ) (unt?
CC: My lusus is getting ) (ungry 38(
CA: shore thin fef
CC: I'll try and fis) ( ) (er some glub, but I'm not quite as good at it as you, -ERIDAN 38)
CA: fef you can more than handle yourself out there
CA: but ill be shore to bring back a heap a meat for her
CC: ) (ee ) (ee!
CC: Good luck on your date 38D
CA: wwhatevver
caligulasAquarium quit trolling cuttlefishCuller at 11:50
Eridan didn't feel like trolling any of his other friends, so he logged out of Trollian, put the husktop on standby and set to looking around Nepeta's "improved" shipping wall. The portrait of Karkat and Nepeta was gone, which cheered Eridan up a bit. He wished she had replaced it with a picture of him in his place but knew he was getting ahead of himself. Eridan could acknowledge he was flushed for Nepeta, but he still wasn't sure if she was flushed for him. She had enjoyed the kiss, certainly. She had let him stay with her. She was even willing to continue hanging out with him, even though he was sure his presence was something of a burden. Shrugging, Eridan looked at his new suggested black quadrant, the only thing changed. A chill went down his spine.
"Sol..." he muttered. Hadn't he had a passionate hatred for the mustard-blood in his dream? Didn't he kill - or at least try to kill - Sollux in the dream? Eridan stepped away from the wall. He needed to clear his head; maybe get on Trollian and chat with Feferi or one of his other friends. Grabbing the husktop, Eridan logged back into Trollian and was immediately bombasted by messages.
twinArmageddon began trolling caligulasAquarium at 11:58
TA: we're all dead
TA: every one of u2 ii2 fuckiing dead
TA: we didn't even know iit
TA: the voiice2 of the iimiinently-decea2ed are growiing 2o loud now that iit hurt2
TA: ii can hardly 2tand it!
TA: ii 2hould have li2tened a 2weep ago!
TA: ii 2hould have downloaded the game and we 2hould have played and ii know mo2t of u2 would have diied but iit would have been better than thii2!
TA: oh gog
TA: iit2 happeniing 2oon
TA: ii can 2ee iit
TA: iit2 happeniing toniight
twinArmageddon quit trolling caligulasAquarium at 12:01
caligulasAquarium began trolling twinArmageddon at 12:09
CA: sol wwhat in the glubbin fuck are you goin on about?
CA: sol?
caligulasAquarium quit trolling twinArmageddon at 12:12