"So where exactly are we?" Sollux's whisper floated through the darkness.
"Beats me," Karkat answered.
"We're about to go down that alley covered in dicks." Terezi said from the front of the small group
"Oh, okay," Sollux chuckled. "Great place."
Jade glanced at John, who shrugged. They'd been walking for around two hours, this was farther than he'd ever been. They had passed main street a while ago and now were in an industrial looking area, filled with crumbling high risers and rusted cars. They had encountered several people at first, passing by in small groups, wearing dark clothing, eyes the only illumination of their faces, but less often now. Kanaya and Terezi took up the lead, occasionally referencing the homemade map or glaring back when anyone talked too loud.
The borrowed knife still felt heavy in his jacket pocket, reminding him just enough that where they were going wasn't a desirable place to be. Jade was nervous as well, John could tell as she hadn't spoken a word since they left the candy shop, only stared ahead with her jaw locked, sparing an occasional glance at him.
"Ah, here we are," Karkat said as they turned left. "Dick Alley." John couldn't help but giggle, it wasn't always clear that Haven was mostly inhabited by teenagers, but the alley was a large indicator. The backs of buildings that enclosed the alleyway were completely painted over with nothing but caricatures of penises left and right.
Nobody could keep a straight face as they walked along, Jade even breaking out a smile as Kanaya visibly rolled her eyes.
"Do you see ours?" Sollux asked, grinning.
"Umm...yeah! Right where we left it." He pointed proudly at two dicks drawn among the others, in red spray paint.
"There's mine!" Terezi said, gesturing to her left. They could see several abstract lines scrawled in teal that didn't resemble anything seen in the material world.
"That one looks like a tentacle," John laughed, pointing. Karkat and Sollux instantly quieted.
"What?" He asked. Sollux turned to face him.
"Didn't I tell you? It's a side effect." He said solemly as Karkat nodded. John instinctively grabbed his crotch.
"What?!"
Sollux and Karkat remained straight-faced for about three more seconds before bursting into bouts of laughter, Karkat even doubling up.
"You-should've seen your face."
"Did he grab his-?"
"Yeah!"
"Oh my god I can't believe that worked."
John rolled his eyes and stepped back to fall in line with Jade, who was giggling. Karkat and Sollux didn't stop laughing until they reached the end of the alleyway, even though John didn't think it was all that funny.
After another hour they all ducked inside an abandoned bus station, sitting along the molding benches and eating some crackers and dried fruit. Kanaya lay out the map, staring intensely. John scooted over to join her on the floor, having just fallen through his bench due to the wood collapsing.
"So where are we?" He asked, looking at the network of lines and words written in Kanaya's slanting handwriting.
"About here," She said, pointing at a spot around the middle of the map. "That reminds me, I should draw this station it. Could be useful, not for the daytime but maybe storm refuge or something," She said, glancing up at the plastic roof. She reached down the front of her jacket, pulled out a pencil from somewhere, and began drawing. She drew a little box, marking in the benches and overhanging in precise detail, then neatly lettered "Bus Station—storm refuge". John observed the rest of the map and noticed that the buildings and various streets were drawn with equal precision and detail.
"You're really good at this," He said. Kanaya smiled sadly.
"It's what I did before I came here. Made maps."
"As a job?"
"No, it was more like just a hobby. I wouldn't make them of actual places, I would make up fictional lands and worlds and make maps of them. Sometimes I would even paint them on scrolls. I got all this fancy calligraphy stuff too." She laughed. "That was a bit of a waste of money."
"How old are you? I mean, you don't look that much older than me, but just something Sollux said and I was wondering." Kanaya paused in her writing.
"I've almost lost track," She said quietly. "But I think I'm 19."
"Oh. Wow."
"Yeah I still look fourteen don't I?"
"…yeah."
Kanaya shrugged. "It used to bug me but I think I've gotten used to it. Won't be around for too much longer so all in all not a big deal."
"Okay," Terezi said, bounding to her feet. "We've got a long way to go, back on the road."
(short and lame, i know. im gonna try to do more weekly updates when winter break starts :) happy holidays!)