Karkat felt bandages tickle his skin as he came to. He was so certain how long he had been out, he remembered abruptly why he had fallen asleep though. He had been hounded near death by Gamzee, it was probably the only time he felt grateful for Equius' presence. If not for him, he would've been beaten to death instead of near it. He was overcome with relief when he realized that Eridan had gotten away, it seemed to be the only thing soothing the dense amount of pain sweeping over his body. It started in his thighs, which were heavily bruised from the kicks he received. It moved upward to his hips and waist, which were also heavily bruised. His chest hurt most of all; he felt the bones move as he took a death breath. He had to make his breathing short and soft or else he'd injure himself further. His lips were dry and swollen, as well as parts of his face from Gamzee's punches. His hands and arms were laden with his bites, which he inflicted when Karkat tried to fight back.
He blinked; it was hard to open his eyes for a moment; mostly because they are swollen, he opened them though. He was in Gamzee's room, reclining on his bed. He must be reclining instead of lying down completely so he could eat and drink without breaking his ribs any further than they already were.
"You're awake," he grit his teeth for a moment when he heard Gamzee speak. He moved his head slightly to the right to look at him, only to stop at the snap of a scab cracking under the pressure. There was a gash between his neck and shoulder that had scabbed over, the movement had caused it to burst open. Gamzee sighed and approached him, pressing a gauze-like clothe into it, "You should have motherfuckin' taken my deal. You wouldn't motherfuckin' be like this if you had just stayed with me bro,"
Karkat did not respond. He did not want to give Gamzee the satisfaction of a response, he would remain indifferent. He was through playing his games.
"Well?" Gamzee hissed, sanitizing the wound before applying a layer of gauze and securing it with medical tape, "Dontcha have anything to motherfuckin' say for yourself?"
No response. Gamzee growled, standing straight as his hands balled into fists, "Dontcha have anything to say after betraying me to that fishy motherfucker?"
No response. Gamzee screamed, kicking the bed, "SAY SOMETHING MOTHERFUCKER!"
Karkat sighed, speaking calmly, "I will never feel red for you,"
Gamzee paused, stillness pervading his stature.
"I will never feel anything for you, nothing red, nothing black. You're not worth any romance," Karkat told him, "I would only ever feel pale for you, and even then I'm not going to solace you from your well-deserved grave,"
He knew Gamzee could respond in one of two ways; with violence or with nothing. He would either turn around and walk away, or beat the rest of the living hell out of his captive. Karkat waited patiently for his response. The highblood's nose scrunched, his lips tightened, and his eyes shut. He held his chest as he felt waves of emotions take him. He turned on his heel and hastily left the room, leaving the mutantblood to his own grieving. Gamzee, meanwhile, rushed down the hall; a distressed, twisted look filled his face. He felt so rejected, so torn-Karkat had just ended their matespritship! How could he?! Gamzee had to punish him for his infidelity; he was acting like a righteous highblood. Why did he feel so guilty then for hurting him? He had to; it was for his own protection. Surely he really wasn't attracted to the sea-dweller. He was just going through a phase? He had to just be going through a phase!
He kicked the wall as he proceeded downward to the artillery, where Equius was doing stock of the weaponry retrieved from the burnt wreckage. He kicked the door open, demanding all the other trolls except his right-hand one leave. Equius shut the door and slowly approached his master; he could be quite unpredictable when he was upset. Of course, he could not really solace him. He had no idea how to solace him, it seemed that only the mutantblood could and he was certain that the mutant would not give him any solace.
"He ended our matespritship bro," Gamzee sniffled, starting to tear up as he leaned into the corner of the room, hiding his face in the darkness as he wept, "He MOTHERFUCKIN' said he didn't PITY ME. What do I do bro? WHAT DO I MOTHERFUCKIN' DO?!"
"I…" Equius sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I do not know sir. I have never been in such a situation. Had I, I am certain I could've been of more help,"
Gamzee squeaked in pain and slid down the wall, gripping the pendent that had been newly draped around in his neck. It was Eridan's ring that he had pried from Karkat's balled hand. There was a scar on the mutant's palm now, he hated the idea of such a mark gracing his matesprit's palm and reminding him of the sea-dweller's caress. Gamzee was wearing it around his neck for purpose of vengeance. He wanted to tear it from his neck as he strangled the sea-dweller and shove it down his throat. He'd make him swallow the mistake of seducing his matesprit.
The thought filled him with pleasure and guilt, and it was that guilt that was started to eat at him being as a highblood.
Eridan whimpered softly as he watched the red material disperse into the swirling water below him. It had been a week since Karkat was left behind and despite wanting to keep the mutant's genetic material inside of him, his moirail urged him to release it. A troll could only hold the genetic material of their red or black other for so long before it went bad. He felt cold as it dispersed down the drain of the bathing tent, his moirail just outside his slot in the structure as he cleaned himself. He was still reeling with emotions from Karkat's sacrifice. The others assured him that he was still alive, that no bodies or blood had been found. It had rained though, washing away any evidence that they had yet to find.
He just didn't want to move as the warm water pushed the soapy suds down his body, he was so torn. They had been discussing routes, building up on supplies and weaponry. At dawn they were leaving, they would start digging. The whole group would leave except for Kanaya, who had a sort of immunity form the Subjugglators. She was the only one of her blood caste, and bore the Matriorb. She would assure that the highblood bloodline would live on, if found she would not be harmed. She was the key to their species' future. During mating season she would often be sought after, but easily hidden by her group. She was a prize and asset to both kingdoms. Eridan did not want to leave; he would rather stay in the Caverns and search for his matesprit. His moirail urged him though and he could not let her go alone, she meant too much to him and deep down he still longed to be in a matespritship with her again.
How selfish, he thought himself to be, to value the life of his moirail more than his matesprit.
"Eridan?" Feferi spoke softly from outside the slot, "Are you okay? You're taking an awfully long time,"
"I'm fine Fef," Eridan told her, but not without a little shakiness to his voice. Sighing, she opened the curtain and stepped in. Drawing Eridan to grab the towel he had hung against the wall and hastily tie it around his waist. Feferi was fully dressed, not minding as the water soaked her clothes, "Wwhat the hell Fef?"
"Shhh, we've seen each other naked before," she smiled, grabbing a wash rag from the small bench and holding it under the water spout, "its coral,"
"Wwhat are you evven doin?" he asked, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest to provide himself with a sense of dignity in this situation.
"I'm moirailing," she held the rag to his neck, lightly patting it with the warm water, "You need to clam down,"
"I am calm, Fef," Eridan urged.
"No, you're not," she pressed, "You beat Sollux pretty bad,"
"He deservved it," Eridan huffed, turning his focus to the curtain that separated his slot from the next.
"No, he didn't. You could've krilled him, Eridan," she told him, turning to his back and gently massaging the clothe up and down his back, which soothed the male sea-dweller. He always had a soft spot for Feferi's ministrations, especially when she touched his back. The area always seemed so sensitive when she touched it, "You should apologize,"
"I wwasn't gonna kill him, y'knoww. I just…" he paused and sighed softly, "He made me leavve Kar behind."
"I know Eridan, I can sea why you're distraught," Feferi sighed, "But you should apologize to him."
Eridan sighed, turning to Feferi and biting his lip. Her frown was his weakness, he never wanted to see her sad. It was just like a highblood, gathering the weaknesses from the castes below in order to gain the upper hand. Even if his moirail didn't mean to, she was manipulating him.
"Alright," he cupped her cheek, "I'll apologize…For Kar,"
She smiled softly and kissed his cheek, giving him a hug. It felt inappropriate, mainly because he was naked (if not for the towel,) and they were so close. At least if his matesprit was dead, he'd have Feferi.