Feferi was cursed with the uncanny ability to sleep through most noise, so it took Sollux dumping ice water on her head to wake her up. "F-fuck!" she said, teeth chattering."Sollux! Warm w-water works b-better!"
"Sorry," he muttered, handing her the towel in his hand. He set down the now empty bucket. "That's what my dad used to do when I had trouble waking up for school."
Feferi dried her hair, then pulled her blanket tighter around her. "Cold-blooded trolls don't do too well with cold water. Warm water keeps the temperature of our body regulated," she explained. "Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?"
"Hey, just because I'm the bomb at coding doesn't mean I'm great at biology," Sollux said. "You can take a shower. We have some cereal somewhere. Karkat invited us to his house. He's trying to get everyone to show up for a team meeting."
"Who else is going?"
"Terezi, Kanaya, and Tavros are all definitely going. Pretty much everyone else is on the fence about it. Dave and Dirk both agree it'd be risky for them to show a connection to Karkat. Eridan can't make it for obvious reasons. Same for the Makaras. And Aradia said her mom has been really strange lately."
"Isn't her mom always strange?" Years ago, when Aradia was turning thirteen, she made the mistake of inviting her girl friends over for a slumber party. Feferi remembered the night well, though she wished she could permanently burn it from her memory. Ms. Megido showed the kids how to properly do a demonic ritual to the gods of ancient Alternia. Three cluck beasts were killed, and a squirrel was drained of its blood while hanging about a pentagram. Feferi was the only one who didn't throw up.
"True, but like, weird weird. She never minded if her kids went out whenever they wanted." Another very prominent memory that every friend Aradia had remembered was the time her older sister, Damara, was caught participating in a foursome at a park. How Aradia was a normal and nice as she was, nobody was quite sure.
"That is strange. There has been more gang violence. Maybe she's concerned for them?"
Sollux laughed. Feferi scowled as he continued to laugh harder. "This is the lady that taught her children how to properly kill a man and get away with it," Sollux said, trying to catch his breath.
"Shut up," Feferi whined, hitting him with her pillow. To his credit, he tried to muffle his laughter with his hands. "Okay, so it's for some weird superstition maybe? I mean, she is a little insane."
"Sure, only a little. Get up, FF. We're gonna try to leave soon." Sollux left Feferi alone in his room, and she began to search through her bag. She grabbed a plain black shirt and a multicolored skirt. She smelled good enough, and her hair wasn't too unbearable, so she simply changed and started to braid her hair. Knowing that this would take forever (maybe Meenah was right to chop it all off), she left Sollux's room. Mituna was nowhere to be found, but it was only ten, so she assumed he was sleeping. Mr. Captor was trying to clean some of the wrappers of the floor. Sollux was rummaging through the kitchen. "Dad, do we have any actual food?"
"Yes, it's called fruit. Oh wait, nevermind, you brats let that shit rot because you'd rather eat your junk food and crap," Mr. Captor grumbled.
"Good morning!" Feferi said, hoping to cheer them up.
Mr. Captor looked up from the trash. "Hey, Feferi! Good morning!" For whatever reason, Mr. Captor was always incredibly nice to Sollux's friends. He looked weary. Feferi pitied him. Living with her mother was hell, so she completely understood the pain that would come with having to work for her. Unlike his sons, Mr. Captor didn't wear the 3d glasses that were so popular with psionics these days. Otherwise, his sons were the spitting image of him.
"No food?" she asked.
"Nothing I'd eat," he said. "I could give you two some cash for a diner."
"If that's the case, I can buy us food," Sollux said.
"Sure," Feferi said, finishing off the braid. "Split the bill?"
Sollux nodded and the two left. There was an upstanding diner not too far from Karkat's house, but for the slums of the city that meant the place was perfect for teens and drug addicts. "How much money do you have?" Sollux asked.
Feferi reached for her wallet, then slapped her hand to her forehead. "Fuck. I need to ask Meenah to grab me my wallet later."
Sollux chuckled. "I'll cover the bill. What would you do without me?"
"Probably still be with my mom," Feferi admitted.
She always forgot how big Karkat's house was. It was obvious that Slick made plenty of money from his illicit activities. After they knocked on the door, someone called out to them. "Hey guys!" Tavros called, waving. He tried running to them, but almost tripped.
"Tavros! I didn't know you got new legs!" Feferi exclaimed, running to him so she could help him walk.
"Uh, yeah," he said, the tips of his ears turning brown. "I've only had them for about a week. Still getting used to walking again."
"Did Equius make those?" Sollux asked.
"No. He made a similar design, but my dad wanted it to be a medical procedure."
Before they could ask him more questions, Karkat answered the door. "Hey. Terezi is already here. See anyone else on the walk?"
"Nah, just us three," Sollux said.
"Ugh, the fuckers are late. Come on in, we're in the meeting room." They followed Karkat inside, and Feferi discovered that the meeting room was where The Midnight Crew probably did some business. There was a suspicious stain on the floor, the walls were riddled with holes of different shapes and sizes, and the lights were dim. Terezi was sitting at a round table.
They talked idly for half an hour as the rest of their friends arrived. Equius and Nepeta arrived together. Then John and Jade, both very concerned about the stain. Rose didn't seem to mind much when she arrived with Kanaya. Vriska was the last to arrive, waltzing in without a care.
"Now, to finally make some progress," Karkat started, before being interrupted by Vriska.
"Are there any snacks?"
"Oh! I brought some chips, just in case," John replied, reaching into his bag to pass out food.
Karkat glared at them. "You stupid shit stains, listen up. Nothing has happened since Lord English was killed. The Felt is almost entirely dismantled, and the Midnight Crew is working on speeding that process up. Other gangs have tried to move into power, with the main two being the human gang, Triple R, and the Iafam. The Protectors of Alternia have yet to make any move."
"That's not entirely true," Equius said. Everyone turned to look at him, and his cheeks turned dark blue. "I overheard my father talking to some of his friends from work. If you look at murder statistics, all species had a risk that was relatively close. Recently, trolls are actually safest from being attacked, with humans most likely at risk."
"I've seen some rumors that the current president will resign soon," said Rose. "Most people encouraging this are trolls, and the different parties are all putting forth a troll candidate."
"Shit, that's not good," Karkat said.
"Duuuuuuuuh," Vriska said. "We have to do something now, before the Protectors of Alternia have control of the government."
"My mom hasn't said anything about her plans," Feferi said. "I'd figure she'd try to run for president, or dictator. Then again, she's never told me much."
"You're older sister is still with her, right?" Feferi nodded, and Karkat continued. "Good. Tell her about all of this, Kankri can help break the news if you want. We need as many eyes and ears as we can get. Until then, keep up the good work. John, Jade, Rose, all of you stay safe and make sure the Striders do the same. Sollux, Tavros, make sure Aradia knows to be wary of any highblood trolls that look like they come from rich families. As for everyone else, keep your ears open. See if we can get a safe place for the Makaras and Eridan."
"I love these meetings," Sollux said. "They're short enough to make all of us question why the fuck we bothered showing up."
"Because Karkat's awesome adoptive mom makes fantastic cake," Terezi said. John turned green and ran out, causing everyone to laugh. Feferi frowned. Now she had to talk to Meenah.