You're name is Karkat Vantas and you've jumped five years into the future of the past, now being in the past of the present but less so. You're now nineteen years old and a lot has changed.
Dolorosa had been taken in and sold off for reasons no one in the family really understands, but Marquis McSpiderBitch had taken her off traveling. You get sporadic letters from her assuring that she's doing fine, life is fine, everything is fine. You sigh and set down another one of those letters o the table, running your hand through your hair.
Everyone else had gone their separate ways for the most part. Kankri works for the Council, Meulin was off living somewhere with her husband (they didn't tell anyone where they went, you guess you understand why though), Porim had dropped off the face of the earth and no one heard from her since she'd left the week she'd turned twenty, four years ago. Kanaya and her girlfriend were off exploring, and only recently had Nepeta gone to live in the forests (you haven't gone to visit, nor do you intend to any time soon.
Oh, and Sollux had moved back into his old little house. Apparently it had been his since Mituna had died and he hadn't felt a need to move back in to the lonely and haunted place when he was little. Really, he hadn't even felt a need to stop living with you until about half a year ago when you'd decided it was probably best he go back to his own place. That was when the first body turned up.
It wasn't like anything special was happening recently, it just happened out of the blue. They found a girl in the square, wrists and throat slit. She was empty of blood, but it wasn't hard to see where it had gone - splattered against the the cobblestone of the street in intricate sweeps that seemed to be wings on closer inspection. It had been awful and everyone had become a little more cautious, but it was just a freak thing, right?
Apparently not, because when it finally settle down a few months later, the second victim, a man, was found outside the entrance the the Council Building. The pattern was the same, corpse empty and blood spread out, but it was clear that it was less cared for when the strokes were made.
When the third was found another month later, the alley was a mess and it was clear that this wasn't stopping any time soon if something wasn't done. People whispered about it, children were to stay in yards, and no one went out alone.
When you were first dragged in for questioning, they fired them off.
"Where were you these evenings?" Home with Sollux, trying to stop him from sparking and working with him to quiet the voices.
"When was the last time you lost your grip?" When you fuck-faced morons dragged me out of my home, ripped me to shreds, and sent me back.
"Have you felt the need to draw blood lately?" Yes, I would like to empty you right fucking now.
You didn't answer like that of course, you answered calmly, what they wanted to hear. Sollux had decided that it would probably better if you parted ways for a while and decided to go home. He still comes over sometimes, but it's not frequent and you don't leave the house together.
You sit at the table now, drumming your fingers and sorting through the mail with about as much interest as if you were listening talking about Gamzee's miracles. You don't leave the house much these days, but today you have something to do.
You get up from the table and pull on your cloak before slipping out into the night. Maybe it's the silence, or maybe it's the cold breeze, but something throws you off and you hate it.
YOU ARE NOW PRESENT KARKAT and you have finally awoken fom the strings of memories that lead to right here. Right now. You don't let yourself slip back into sleep from where you lay on the couch, but it's so tempting. Just a minute... No, you don't want to relive that night so soon after reviewing the rest of your life's hell. You get up, walk around the little hovel and then look over at Sollux's door.
You wonder if he's even asleep or if he's wrapped up in a book. Probably neither. He's probably curled up in the corner, hands over his ears, fizzling red and blue. He's probably trying to hide in his own mind from the insanities that reside there. It makes you upset to think about it, but you sake your head. No, he hadn't done that since you two were kids and you know it. You're just a little caught up in the past still.
You grab a slice of bread from the cupboard and munch on that to distract yourself. The month you'd been in the jail, they hadn't fed you well and your weight had dropped considerably. This would do for now, you weren't about to raid Sollux in the middle of the night anyway.
Taking a seat in the living room again, you choose the floor over the couch and press your palms against the warped wood. You don't move a lot, just meditate quietly to calm your nerves. Before you know it, you've fallen asleep again and it's suddenly morning when Sollux wakes you. The first few hours go by in silence before your both at the table and Sollux pipes up.
"Karkat, we've been friends for years," he said. Using your full name meant business and you'd only heard him use it enough times to count on one half of one hand. "You're going to tell me everything now."
A/N: I finally made a full circle in the timeline! f*ck yes! Thank you for all the continual support and baring with me, guys ^^
