Adrenaline and fear startled Karkat awake. The little ditch he was sleeping in was completely surrounded by flame. Karkat stayed low as he packed his last few possessions: three pictures, a shabby cape Kanaya had made, and a fur blanket Nepeta had given to him.

There was only one safe place to go, Nepeta's cave. He always knew how to get to it no matter where he was, and hopefully he could make it.

He ran through the smoke, trying to shield his face from the heat, but the smoke scorched his eyes and made them water up. He became frantic as the smoke filled his lungs and he was doing more coughing than breathing.

He feet suddenly gave way on the granite ledge. He was here but he couldn't go in... He couldn't let her see his tears! He stumbled over his feet and hit his head against the rock, instantly knocking him unconscious.

When he came to his was coughing and wheezing. He instinctively touched his head to check for blood but there was none, just a massive headache.

When he finally caught his breath, Nepeta cautiously asked him, "Are you alright?"

Karkat calmly assessed the situation and realized one key detail was missing, "I can't see!"

"Your eyes were all red like Terezi's so I bandaged them," Nepeta tentatively waited for Karkat to ease her anxiety and tell her he was fine.

His eyes did burn a lot, but he could tell he was not really blind. His hysteria had been induced by a thick black bandage expertly wrapped around his eyes.

"Maybe we should go to The Royal Kitty to see Terezi."

"No, and besides I can't see shit."

"It's Fefuri's birthday, and you haven't seen her since we purr six," Nepeta pleaded.

"Drop it Nep."

Pounce de Leon growled. Nepeta took a deep breath and swallowed her pride, "I am leaving for the city at the crack of paw-n. I purromised efuryone and I can't go back on it."

"Let's not argue and go to sleep," Karkat sighed.

"I'm going to ask Terezi for advice..." Nepeta added.

"Good night babe," Karkat was already asleep.

When Nepeta woke up, Karkat was curled into a ball in the opposit corner of the cave. She wondered when was the last time he had actually slept... She then wondered when the last time they slept together... She decided to forget the subject so she wouldn't start the day angry.

At least her kitty was freed from being a pillow. Nepeta loaded Pounce with a stack of leather and pelts as tall as the lusus. Nepeta completely covered herself in thick leather armor and grabbed her umbrella. Traveling by day lowered the chance of an ambush, but a troll had to be very careful to keep their skin from the sun

It was a long journey, but Nepeta enjoyed a little solitude. By sunset, the woods were thinning out and she was coming upon the city. From here, it was nothing, but it was time for a short break.

Nepeta always tried to blend in with the city folk. By removing the extra pieces that were for sun protection, her outfit became a nice leather dress (that doubled as light armor)!. She stowed her extra belongings, gave Pounce a good scratch behind the ears, and continued on.

It was barely sunset, and The Royal City was already bustling. Nepeta wasted no time selling her furs and leathers to vendors; she was more than ecstatic to see Equius! She was told to meet Equius, Sollux, and Feferi by a fountain. However, fountains were actually doorways to underground estuaries that seadwellers used to move about, and there were no fewer than 953 in The Royal City.

"She hasn't seen us yet..." Sollux said. He made waved to get her attention, but Equius cold side glance shot it down. Normally he would argue with Equius, but he was determined to win Nepeta's heart. He looked down at his clothes and cringed. She looked gorgeous, and he was still wearing the same crusty shit from six sweeps ago.

"Nepeta! Nepeta!" Feferi yelled. Pounce was bounding to Feferi first before Nepeta noticed her name being called.

"Good kitty, Pounce," she scratched Pounce under the chin quickly, "Equius!"

Nepeta grabbed Equius around the waist, picked him up, and twirled him around, "I missed my meowrail so much!"

"Nepeta you're making me blue in the face," Equius choked out. Nepeta set him down.

"Sollux! You haven't changed a bit!" "Be cool Sollux, slowly hug, not too long... perfect!"

"Fef! You're gonna be one old lady soon!"

"Oldest of the whole group!" she giggled though she kind of hated it.

"This is wonderfur! It's like the old gang is back togefur!" Nepeta cheered.

Sollux internalized his sarcastic reply, "A third of us with triple the baggage!"