You stand in the shade of the outside garden with Karkat, Jin, Yuneme, Tamak, and Amrena; Tamak's wife. She had golden eyes and straight, short horns that both point downwards towards her ears at the tips, with black, wavy hair that reaches her lower back. You'd met her while walking inside with Karkat and Tamak to find Jin and Yuneme. She's just been waking up; she had an excuse to be sleeping in the middle of the day, though.
"What you name it if it a boy?" Karkat asks, tentatively touching Amrena's swollen stomach as he sits in the grass next to her. She smiled and started listing off names.
"Congratulations on the baby." You say to Tamak. "I'd never thought trolls and humans were similar enough to have children together, but a lot of misconception's I've had about trolls have been cleared up lately." Tamak smiles.
"I wasn't sure Amrena and I would be able to have children, but after a few months, her stomach started getting bigger," Tamak said. "We're more similar genetically than most think; more than seems possibile, with all the physical differences between us. It's fascinating, really."
You think of how foreign some of Karkat's anatomy is to you; his horns; multicolored and smooth, his yellow and red eyes; they're more beautiful than they sound, like morning sun coming through bright stained glass, and his smokey skin; tougher than your own, how it felt under your hands as they slipped under his shirt...
You blush and hastily nod in agreement; yep, sure is fascinating, all science going up in here, definitely not blushing over that time I made out with my troll boyfriend, what, who said that, I didn't say that.
Your mental rambling is interrupted as Jin comes out of the house with two plates, followed by Yumema.
"Ok. We've got apple slice and peanut butter bread, and we're ready to go!" Jin calls out. She and Yuneme sit in the grass near Karkat and Amrena, and you and Tamak follow. They pass out plates and mugs, and everyone starts taking food from the serving plate.
"You eat outside?" You ask. Yuneme smiles at you.
"Certainly. The house is far to hot this time of day in the summer. Takes the appitete right out of you."
You take some apple slice and two pieces of peanut butter bread. It's not anything like what you and Bro used to eat; you two used to have grapes, corn, and always some sort of meat. This water tastes different than the water you had with Bro, too; more earthen. They probably have a shallow well; Bro had enough money to get one that was really deep, where the cleaner water is. When you were younger, you had milk as well, and in the past few years, wine mixed with honey.
You guess you never realized how much different your standard of living had been from others. You snap out of it as Jin sits and addresses you.
"So, Dave and Karkat; would you mind sharing the story of your great escape with us?"
You and Karkat spend a good hour recounting to the group everything that had happened thus far, leaving out the part about you two making out in Karkat's stall. You just say you'd stayed and talked until you fell asleep. The group finishes the meal, but you all just set the plates aside for now - Jin says the washing can wait until storytime is over.
"So you heard about us from another troll?" Tamak asks.
"And a song." Karkat says.
"We must be more popular than I thought." Tamak says. "Not that it's just us - there are about ten card house's now." He grins. "If it was just us, we'd be overrun."
"Wait; there are other card houses?" You ask.
"In various locations. We actually are copiers; we heard about hanging up card symbols to show you've got a safehouse for trolls. Amrena and Yuneme say it's connected to troll romance."
"The quadrant system." Amrena supplies. "Basically, It's a type of romantic system that has spots for pity, friendship, hate, and making sure those who hate each other don't kill each other. I sort of abandoned it; I never hated anyone enough to fill the hate quadrant, and me and Tamak don't really pity each other. It's love beyond the quadrants."
Tamak blushes, and Karkat speaks up. "Dave and me tell you us story, Tamak. Can we hear you story now?"
"Go for it, Tamak!"
"Yes, do tell the boys."
Tamak breathes in, looking thoughtful. "Well, me and my sister Jin were servant's children on a farm plantation. We did things like housework; but they had slaves as well. Trolls who worked in the fields."
"As children, Jin and I would always play in the yard with the other children, including the slave children. Yuneme and Amrena have been our best friends since I can remember, and we would always play together. They're related too."
"We're cousins." Yuneme says, looking over to Amrena.
"As me and Jin got older, we started to realize that Yuneme and Amrena were more to us than just friends. I fell for Amrena, and Jin for Yuneme. We came out to our parents together, and they didn't accept it. They were angry at us for having a relationship with trolls, and with Jin especially, for being a lesbian. They said they were going to tell the plantation owners if we didn't end the relationships. So all four of us ran away together that night."
"We wouldn't leave each other because our parents didn't approve of who we loved," Jin says. "We live out here with each other, where the cities who don't approve homosexuality or trolls in general, let alone troll-human relations, don't bother us."
You lean over to Karkat, whose sitting next to you. You'd be hesitant to tell them you'd been dating Kar, and had seen the hesitation in his eyes while telling the story as well. You'd known they were alright with trolls, but you hadn't been sure if they were alright with homosexuality.
"They're lesbians; should we tell them we're dating?" You whisper to Kar.
"...Do you want to?" He asks.
"It'd make things easier, and less awkward, since we wouldn't have to avoid it." You whisper.
"I fine with it." Kar whispers.
You look back to the group (Jin's giving you a disapproving stare, and you flush; you know whispering right in front of them is rude) and you take Karkat's hand, squeezing it.
"Actually, we should probably tell you something too."
...
"I knew it!" Amrena exclaims. "I thought you two were more than friends, but didn't want to say anything. Oh, you two are such a cute couple!" She laughs and puts a hand on her stomach. "The baby thinks so too; he kicked to let me know."
"Speaking of them being together." Tamak says. "I was talking about finding jobs for Karkat and Dave, and Dave told me he knows how to read and figure." All three woman look over at you, surprised.
"I can write too." You supply.
Tamak grins. "He's got an education. I told him he could get a job out in Terunca; the city a few hours away. But since he and Karkat ran away from Domunus city to be together, I was thinking I might be able to get Karkat apprenticed in the metal shop, so they could stay together in the city. But if Karkat wanted to be in the city, he'd have to go to Snake first...I was hoping Yuneme and Amrena could talk to him about Snake."
Yumema and Amrena glance over at each other, seeming apprehensive.
"Snake is...a tattoo artsist." Yuneme says. "A tattoo is a sort of ink that you put on your skin to make a design or picture, or, in this case, change the color of your skin." Karkat starts to shake his head, but Yuneme continues.
"Karkat, at first it sounds really bad, but if you and Dave are going to be together, you need to adapt. I wish the people in the city weren't like they are, but the truth is, they don't like trolls. If you want to live in the city, you have to adapt. He can use dye that isn't permanent; see, you can barely see mine anymore." She holds out her wrist, and both you and Karkat lean in to see a very light bronze patch on her grey arm. "Both me and Amrena tried to get them, but we were allergic to the dye. Snake did a test patch, and out wrists swelled up to the size of apples. I couldn't use my hand for a week."
"How far ago did you get tattoo on wrist?" Karkat asks.
"About two years ago. The dye takes time to fade, but it will. He had dye that's permanent, too, but I didn't want to get that. I got the temporary dye because it feels like I'm less changed with it, since my skin will go back. I'd like to say I got permanent dye because skin color doesn't matter, but I didn't. Skin color doesn't matter to me on other people; that is, I don't form opinions based off other's skin color. But when it's my own skin color, it matters a lot more. Because I like my skin color. I don't want that part of me to be lost forever. The temporary dye needs to be re-applied every six months or so; but if you're working in the city, you'd be able to afford it. The worst part would be that it's uncomfortable to have done. Not too painful, but not fun, either." Karkat grips your arm. You look to him.
"If you don't want to have it done, you don't have to, Kar. I can work in the city, you on a farm, and I promise I'll come out and visit you every chance I get."
Karkat breathes out. "No way. I don't want to be far away from you; have a relationship that slow get weaker because we not ever see each other. I want to be with you. It just sound kind of scary. But, if it do not last forever..." he looks to Yuneme. "It couldn't be too bad."
"It's not. I promise." She says, smiling at him. "Okay! Dave, Karkat, can you help me with the dishes?"
Catz: Guess who's back
Back again
Catz is back
Please review ;)
On a side note, apparently Homestuck is about 99 percent done now. I don't know if I should scramble to catch up or draw it out and enjoy it ;-;. I'm sad it's ending, but honored to have been part of it. Kudos to you, Hussie-Sempai.