I don't actually have much to say today. Except, if I don't get more reviews, I may or may not delay finishing this story in favor of other projects. HINT HINT

I do not own Homestuck. I could never manage to update as frequently/as much as Hussie does.


Dave knew the only reason the Signless was keeping so quiet now was because he was giving the human teen time to process everything that had happened and come to terms with what the troll had said. As complicated and fucked-up as trollmance was Dave knew, had known from the start, that it wasn't an overture of a romantic sort. It was friendship, pure and simple.

Except, it wasn't so simple. But then, when was the last time anything in his life had been simple?

Bandaging wrists and ankles that were trapped in shackles certainly wasn't simple. The ones around the Signless's ankles had been looser, so wrapping them in gauze had been a little easier. Dave wondered how much good it would do, since the troll's fingers were too large to change the dressing himself, and even if the wounds were allowed to heal properly the manacles would just rub them until they started bleeding again.

Still, even if it was only a slight reprieve from the pain, Dave wanted to do what he could for the troll, because even though he was still sort-of in denial and angry and scared, the troll didn't deserve to suffer.

He cussed as he tried to get the gauze wrapping between the troll and the manacles without making the injury worse. The Ancestor chuckled slightly, though said nothing.

"Rose or Kanaya would be better at this," he finally admitted, though he had finally started making progress on the troll's first wrist.

"I would prefer that you do it."

Dave felt another pang of panic, but he quickly pushed it down. He wasn't going to be able to accept all of this for a little while, maybe even a long while. It was odd to think he could somehow become friends with someone who he still wasn't comfortable being around. He would think it entirely impossible if the troll had given him any say in the matter.

As he continued his rather frustrating task, he asked, "How did you decide I was the one who you needed to help instead of Vantas?"

"After talking privately with the both of you, I discovered my true purpose for coming to your meteor," he explained.

Dave's hand froze as he looked up. "You got Vantas to talk to you?" Disbelief colored his tone. The Cancer had been so hostile during that first meeting that there was no way he would suddenly have changed his mind. But then Dave remembered the day he had caught Vantas eavesdropping and though that maybe it was possible.

The Signless unintentionally confirmed his thoughts. "He sleeps even less than you do, and is consequently more eager to return to bed."

So Dave wasn't the only one to make late-night trips to the kitchen. It wasn't surprising to hear Vantas wouldn't stick around for as long. As much as the troll blustered, he didn't have the same pride Dave did to bolster him through an unwanted confrontation.

"You were waiting for him the first night I came down. You didn't just arrive at the wrong time." Dave remembered the vague wording the troll had used that first night, back when he'd still been 'Mr. Strider.'

The troll nodded, and so Dave turned back to his work, which was made more difficult by the fact that the troll's blood was all over his fingers, staining the gauze before he could even wrap it properly.

He was a little surprised to hear a verbal confirmation as well. "While I did believe I was waiting for Karkat, it seemed in truth I was waiting for you. And now that I have done what I can, I will only be visiting once more to say my goodbyes."

A stinging sensation spread through his chest, and for a moment Dave felt he was being abandoned yet again, but the troll flipped his hand over and gave the Strider's fidgeting fingers a gentle squeeze. It calmed him enough to think about it more rationally. He had known the Signless couldn't keep coming back forever. He was dead, and Dave and his friends were alive. They needed to keep moving forward with their lives, not dwell on an old ghost. It was both a relieving and heartbreaking.

But that didn't mean Dave would forget. He would never forget.

He returned to bandaging the troll's wounds without saying anything, struggling with it for a few more silent minutes before pausing again. "Wait, wait. I haven't noticed Vantas behaving any differently. Have you helped him?"

The flat response was not what Dave was expecting. "No."

He jerked his head up again. "What? Why? I mean, even if I'm more messed up than him, that doesn't mean he's fine." If there was an edge of concern as opposed to curiosity, the Signless didn't comment on it. It wasn't like Dave and the Descendant were best buddies, but a less cranky Karkat would be beneficial for everybody.

Instead, he replied, "I cannot reach him, Dave. He has closed me out, and it would be an exercise in futility for me to force him to open up when it is not my place."

"Then whose place is it?" There was a beat of silence before he asked again. "Who is going to help Karkat if you don't?"

The Signless sighed, refusing to break eye contact with Dave. "If I could help him, Dave, I would. He has inherited my legacy. I was not just called the Signless for all my life. I once had a true name, given to me by Ms. Maryam's Ancestor, but that name has been long forgotten, even by me. At the time of my death, I gained a second name once more. I was known as the Sufferer. I am in part responsible for Karkat's woes, if only for my blood-color. But I am not the one who will be responsible for lifting that burden."

"Who then?" Dave stressed, surprised at how worried he actually was for the Cancer's sake even as he felt a pang of sympathy for the Ancestor. When there was no response right away, Dave nearly lost his patience. But then something occurred to him. "Does he… Is there even someone who can help him?" More silence. "He's going to Suffer, just like you did. Maybe there won't be chains, but the physical pain isn't how you earned your second title, is it? No one's going to be able to help him."

Finally, finally, the Signless responded. "I cannot say, Dave. Only time will tell."

Dave looked down at the troll's still bleeding wrist. He turned the statement over and over in his head for several minutes. If time was what Karkat needed, even the other Knight couldn't guarantee he had enough.