Yeah so I know I have been posting a lot lately, trying to make up for that weird pause but yeah here is the next part. A rather long one at that but worth it. If you want to comment about anything that bothers you, maybe a certain part or sequencing of a certain chapter please leave a review, I really enjoy to hear how people feel about my work. Thank you :33333
Oh and please take special notes in the different peaks and valleys of Karkat's personality and certain triggers that lead to different emotions. I will be using this later on in this story to explain my OOCness of Karkat.
Karkat busied himself with preparations for the dinner the two knights were planning to indulge in, distracting his wandering mind by preparing the various cuts of meat. Dave watched carefully in quiet curiosity at the practiced preparation of the food. This monster knew the twists and turns of the meal, much to the Knight of Time's surprise. Most people who joined the army were trained to eat whatever was able to be consumed, no matter the taste making people with the ability to cook scarce among the ranks. Finding someone with such violent outlooks on life to be doing such a simple task with practiced skill left Dave with his jaw slightly ajar in shock. Karkat turned back to see this expression and snickered in delighted triumph at the reaction his ability had caused.
It is true that Karkat had the strange gift of preparation of food thanks to his lusus, so the troll rather enjoyed his talent and reveled in the new openings it brought. Picking himself off the ground the blood thirsty warrior picked his way through some various weeds to find a particular plant with a single leaf on the side and blooming purple flowers contrasted by a dull yellow in the middle. This flower was quickly picked from the rest and brought back to the now roasting rabbit meat to be crushed in Karkat's hand and lightly sprinkled along the top. This gave the meal a slightly stronger flavoring to it. The Knight of Blood turned his body to face his captive and smiled cruelly in his thoughts of possible torture methods, maybe ripping Dave's intestines out of his body and proceeding to hang The Knight of Time by the neck with them was a little too much for the present time. "So, how about you go take care of the remaining inedible pieces for me and afterwards we can indulge in the meal? Hm?" Dave complied with almost no hesitation, still a little stunned to really comprehend his compliance in favor of taking the various bone and inner parts to be buried in the woods so not to attract animals.
Karkat watched as the man disappeared into the forest before turning back to the fire in favor of the comforting warmth, reminding him of a particularly cold winter day spent in the Alternian kingdom.
The snow had fallen lightly along the dirt roads and the quiet of the city was oddly comforting to the troll who had just come back from conquest. His men had already been dispatched earlier in the day so for the first time Karkat had found himself alone to contemplate inside himself, something he tried to desperately avoid at all cost. To his pleasure, he was able to avoid these thoughts when a certain scent waivered in the air towards Karkat, dragging him towards the source of the smell. After a small walk around a corner the Knight of Blood found a small huddle of trolls who he assumed to be around 8 sweeps old cooking with a crude pot over a makeshift fire, really not an uncommon sight in such an extensive kingdom. The instant fear of him shown in their yellowed eyes but Karkat just smiled and played it off. Finding the drive to distract his mind from the earlier events of that day quite prominent in his jumbled brain. Stepping over the men the knight looked into the pot and tested the taste only to spit it out in disgust. Turning towards the trolls who had taken to huddling in a back corner Karkat spoke gently to them, like he was speaking to a child, "I'm sorry to intrude but I couldn't help but notice the smell and came to investigate. I am also pleased to say that we can fix your meal with just a touch of water and maybe some more vegetables to dilate the obvious meat that has been thrown in here. May I ask if you used the blood as a soupy texture?" From there the group opened up to Karkat slowly, sheepishly admitting to using the blood of the lamb meat they were cooking as a broth but Karkat just smiled and asked for what little supplies they had in their possession in order to ensure they eat well. After some time and mending, the group sat back in pleasure at the deliciousness of a meal they had almost never experienced. The trolls graciously thanked the Knight of Blood before he took his leave figuring it best to head back to his hive, feeling the warmth of their gratitude spread across his armored chest.
Karkat Vantas was torn from these memories as he heard the soft whistling of Dave as he returned from his job, obviously refreshed from the brief time alone to contemplate his own situation without the warrior breathing down his neck at every step.
"Was it that good of a shit?" Karkat said with a cruel smile. Dave just shrugged it off and retaliated lightly," Better than the shit you're giving me." Karkat didn't really want to bother with getting up and degrading the captive so he let this one slide. Dave sat back down on the grass and began toying with the green blades, picking a few to slowly weave them into what looked like a bracelet. Unfortunately he soon got lost in the moment, his voice rejoining the chorus of the woods.
This time a quiet hum of what sounded like a faster more intense melody escaped the mouth of the complicated human and rose into the sky. Karkat listened intently to the beautiful voice that let out the song. This melody was different from anything he had heard before. Instead of soft and telling it was fast and knowing, like the secrets to the words were for those who could pick it up only, to others it was just a quick melody. What kind of music did Dave's kingdom have that they came up with songs that were so different, so…. strange. Before Karkat knew it the song came to a close and there Dave sat for a moment, soaking in the heat of the fire and starring into the sky, thinking of all those he was forced to leave. Karkat had learned after the last time to appreciate the moments when the knight just sat for everything about him changed. The ache of so many years visibly showed on his body and the shift from cool and confident to lost and alone made his threatening demeanor change to one of pity. Something about the change made Karkat slightly high with the exhilaration of how he could abuse these moments, but he still had to wonder what these moments meant to Dave. What did he contemplate when the knight locked himself away for those fleeting times? Not wanting to lose the opportunity to his own laziness Karkat shifted himself so he was slowly crawling over to the man who seemed to hold all the unanswered questions of the world. Why was he here? Why did he care so much for his men? Why did he make Karkat's stomach turn in funny ways? Not knowing these answers angered the Knight of Blood to the boiling point of his patience. He wanted to kill him on the spot and watch all the blood be washed into the river and forever forgotten like the questions that would never be answered. Yet there was just something, maybe it was way his crimson eyes glimmered as he tried to stay in touch with his diminishing past or possibly it was the way he moved with agile ease and the concern of someone prepared for something to strike that just made Karkat's constant thirst for blood die down for the fleeting moments. With these thoughts being tossed around in his head the Knight of Blood slinked up, so he could drape himself behind Dave's firm shoulders with no resistance from the possessor of the steady body. Karkat slowly began to trace his fingers along the tunic that the knight wore, feeling the outline of chainmail and silk underneath. Karkat leaned closer so his lips were inches from the Knight of Time's ear, his nose being tickled by the surprisingly soft blonde hair that stuck out in weird angles from sweat, blood, and dirt.
"Tell me, Strider. Why are you so compliant? What happened in your past?" Karkat knew he would meet resistance to such a deep question and without fail instantly the body underneath him sharpened, making a move to dart out of the blood thirsty warriors grip but was stopped in its course by the weight of Dave's captor. In a strangely intimate and calming fashion Karkat rubbed his hands slowly down and around the front of the Knight of Time's body and back up, his fingers drawing the outline of the muscles underneath the layers of clothing that protected from any weapon, except compassion. Karkat smiled to himself, he could almost feel the confusion of his play as it seeped out from every inch of the warm body into his toyful fingers. He imagined that Dave was wondering why all of a sudden he cared so much about him, or perhaps why his touch was oddly soothing yet fear inducing at the same time. Karkat took silent pride in the way marring the pale skin would leave beautiful scars and stains as he felt the already marked skin. The silence of the moment started to wear on the Knight of Blood's patience, and he began to wonder if cutting Dave's throat a little would be okay if he could see that pale slender neck covered in that delicious red, at least until a small sigh brought back his thoughts to the present moment.
"Why do you even care? What does it matter to you?" Dave bit back with anger slowly beginning to peak on his tongue, the small moment of calm bliss daydreaming fading along with the sun as it fell in the sky. "That knowledge is for me and me alone so keep that annoying fucking nose out of my business!" The knight screamed back, finally managing to rip himself from the iron grip of the strange man. Before Dave could move far the world spun and his back connected with the ground at a painful angle that most people would scream from, but the determination at seeing this blood thirsty mad warrior denied, what he wanted, was more important to Dave in every way. His hands were pinned on either side of his head along with his legs being pinned to the green earth so quickly his head spun in a dizzying twirl of pain. The gray face of his captor leaned down so they were inches apart, his warm breath ghosting over his lips and the smell of earth and metal clashing in his nose, which Dave found to be a surprisingly good scent, one he could grow rather fond of. Suddenly the Knight of Time found his eyes drawn to those plush lips instead of the usual pointed glare he offered to those who found themselves above him. It confused him to the point where he didn't notice the pointed knife being pulled out from his own breast pocket to be dragged along the slight cut on his cheek from a blow received by the mad man naught two days prior. It stung slightly, but Dave would not let that show on his red piercing eyes.
"Someone's guard seems to be falling. Am I affecting you that much, my little knight?" Karkat teased.
"Oh piss off, you blood thirsty freak." was said in retaliation to the cruel jests thrown his way. Instead of responding with words Karkat opted to slice the knife quickly along Dave's clothed chest to exposed his marred pale skin to the night air, a slight hiss outlined his red lips as blood began to seep through the open wound and stain his now cut tunic.
"Now listen here you slimebeast. I don't know what the fuck you're playing at right now, but if you don't quit messing with my head I will FUCKING END YOU!" Karkat spit out, his anger seeping through the iron control he tried so hard to keep. Karkat waited for some response but the only thing he got was a glare and soon followed a bored gaze that drifted off to look into the woods, like the whole threat was some childish thing that Dave would not participate in. This made Karkat even angrier to the point where all control was lost. With a quick movement the knife he clenched in his fist was flipped around so the hilt was out and brought back above the killer's head. Bringing it down with force fueled by anger Dave was struck hard on the head and knocked unconscious by the blow, his body going limp under Karkat's firm grip. If it wasn't for the blood that had dripped down from the chest wound on to his fingers he would have continued to beat the Knight of Time until he finally faced death. Luckily for him the cool blood snapped Karkat back to reality and left him sitting close to his prisoner, starring achingly at the limp body and his own blood stained hands, the question, 'Why?' Driving him in to a mad filled silence. The fear of himself negating any comfort.