Aradia gazed at the grub cappuccino she was handing to a yellow blooded customer. The grubsauce was swirling lazily in greenish streaks among the milky bubbles. It almost reminded her of death, or at least it reminded the voices in her head of their own deaths. She had just begun her shift at the downtown coffee shop and she was already beginning to think about death. At least she didn't fear it like trolls of higher castes seemed to. She pondered how incredibly uncomfortable it would be to fear death and be in her situation.
"Thank you," said the yellow blood.
"Come again soon," Aradia said in return, reciting her practiced line with perfect inflection. She relaxed her shoulders and tucked her hair behind her right horn. Some of it draped back down to her face, tracing the curve of the horn as it dropped limply down. She imagined the beginning of the first skating competition. The babble in the coffee shop seemed almost like the babble of the eager spectators to the sport. She would be grasping a microphone, closely tracking the skaters' movements. She would use her own words to enhance the sport, providing informative and cheery commentary to the viewers. Sounding more alive than ever before, Aradia would genuinely be enjoying her job. She'd be recognized for her dynamic voice. A welcome change from cheap customer service, where her talents would be met with little to no reaction.
The pleasant tinkle of a bell echoed in the still air, and it was not part of Aradia's daydream.
A customer had arrived.
A very important customer.
One by one, each troll in the shop noticed the visitor. Eyes widened. Husktops were forgotten. The idle chatter in the room completely ceased. Everybody turned, stunned, to take in the glittering sight of Feferi Peixes.
Feferi, having just strode into a convenient coffee shop, didn't quite expect the reaction she received, probably due to how rarely she actually entered a building on land. She was indeed aware of the Alternian custom to stand up when royalty enters a building, but she hadn't understood how heavy it felt to be the person they were standing for.
As she walked to the counter, she glanced around at the customers' faces, all incredulous and terrified at the same time. Everybody was rigid on their feet, standing for their lives. Why was such an important figure in the shop? Who had she come to cull? What was she up to? Feferi could see all the questions in their eyes. She took several slow steps to the counter, every troll watching her for any signs of distaste.
Even Aradia was spooked by the palpable silence and Feferi's presence. The voices of the dead seemed so much louder without the background noise. Several of them began speaking rapidly in terror. Many of the dead had been culled by trolls such as her. "Get away from her," some shouted. "Death will find you, burgundy blood!" Aradia tried her best to shut them out. After all, she had met Feferi before. She wasn't as dangerous as her rank suggested. Right?
The fuschia blooded seadweller paused before confronting the cashier. She couldn't leave the customers standing like that.
"Thank you… everyone." Nobody moved a muscle. "You can… sit down… if you want. I'm just here to grab some coffee." Every troll promptly sat down, just in case her permission was an order.
"How can I help you, Your Highness?" Aradia said, taking care to graciously stretch the sentence into almost a song to suit Feferi.
"Um, I think I'll take… the tall lusus latte. Two, please."
"Would you like anything extra? Grubsauce drizzle? Caramel twist?"
"Uh... no thank you. Just plain."
"Coming right up," chirped Aradia, without so much as a crack in her voice. She pushed through a set of free-swinging doors into the kitchen, where she sharply exhaled in shock. It took several deep breaths to shake her out of her stunned state. She began to smile. It was a wide grin, perfectly expressing the unexpectedness of the situation. Softly chuckling, she remembered the order of two lusus lattes she had been requested to make. It sure was fortunate that she was the only one working that shift. Any of Aradia's coworkers would have collapsed under the pressure. Maybe they would never have gotten up. The voices perked up at the thought of death. Funny little voices.
It was also fortunate that she had just freshly steamed some lusus milk. Keeping Feferi waiting was probably fine. She was nice enough. But it's always better to be safe than sorry. And in this case, Aradia didn't need to be sorry. Because the steamed milk was sitting there, frothy and unaware. She procured two cups and placed them on the countertop side by side. Graceful as a gliding cuttlefish, she meticulously poured out just the right amount of milk for the best latte experience. Placing them on the machine under its two spouts, she spared not a drop of milk when she touched her finger to the espresso button. The creamy white milkiness seemed to absorb the steaming jet of espresso. The coffee bubbled up and down, creating a finite fountain of caffeine and sugar. It took only a few seconds, but soon the cups were brimming with foam. Wasting no time, Aradia swept them off the machine and onto the countertop.
She snapped plastic lids onto the twin drinks. Indeed, these may have been the best Aradia had ever created. Precisely crafted to be both perfect and uniform. She slowly inhaled, absorbing the earthy aromas in the room. A bit of dust, some rusty mechanical odor, and coffee. The lifeblood of the shop. With intense determination, she grasped both drinks and marched back to the counter.
Feferi was glad to see the barista again. It had been awkward to no end to stand there at the counter while everybody gawked at her. Despite her efforts, nobody dared take their attention from the heiress. It had been silence. Deafening, awful silence. But now, Aradia had emerged from the swinging doors, calmer and more collected than anybody within blocks of the shop.
"Here's your order, Your Highness! Enjoy!" She smiled as she handed the drinks off to Feferi. The heiress was somewhat surprised. She had never seen coffee made so quickly by someone else. Eridan often took upwards of fifteen minutes. This had been done in two!
"Wow, this service is amazing!" she said, accepting the cups.
"We try our best," replied Aradia, quite flattered.
"Wait, how much?"
"Excuse me, Your Highness?"
"How much… do I need to pay? For the drinks?"
"Oh, for you it's no charge."
"No, really. I insist." The drinks were already on the counter and her hands were already in her bag.
"Well, it's usually 12 boondollars, but I can offer you a discount." Feferi had already fished out a 25-dollar coin.
"Is this enough?"
Aradia weighed her choices. Accept the money or decline it? If she accepted it, she'd get the company more money. It was always nice to have some extra credit, right? "That's… just fine. Thank you."
Feferi flicked a 50-dollar coin into the tip jar. "For the fintastic service. Thank you."
"C-come again soon," said Aradia, stuttering her line for the first time in months.
The rink was far from silent when Feferi arrived. There was the scraping of skates on a frigid, hard surface. There was the low crooning of Gamzee's commentary echoing in the large space. Most persistent of all sounds were Eridan's frustrated fish noises. Those were mostly loud grunts and mumbled curses, with a sprinkling of non-mumbled angry cries. Feferi had heard these many times before. They weren't typically this agitated, but she knew them nonetheless.
"Morning, Eri! I've got coffee." She stepped to the edge of the concrete to better address her partner. "Looks like you need a break."
"Ya think?" Eridan pulled out of the spin he was practicing. "Our dearest choreographer has been working me to oblivion."
"It's all part of the great learning plan, Dan," Gamzee said, blinking lazily in his pupil's direction.
"Well, your plan isn't working. And don't call me Dan. Say my whole glubbing name." He shuffled to Feferi and accepted a warm, steaming latte.
"You let her call you Eri."
"It's a term of endearment. You wouldn't understand." He took a sip. The balance of espresso and milk was surprisingly perfect. He felt the warmth run down his throat, enjoying both the sensation and the flavor.
"What… is this?" Eridan asked, furrowing his brow.
"Just a latte."
"Where did you get it?"
"Just this shop around the corner. Figured I'd support a local business."
"I'll need to ask whoever made it for their technique," he said, taking another eager sip.
"I'm shore shell agree. She was the nicest burgundy blood I've ever met! She made these lattes in two minutes." At the mention of the creator's blood color, Eridan hesitated a bit. He said nothing, making sure to enjoy the latte slightly less as he drank more of the caffeine-rich beverage.
"So, Gamsea. Is there anything I missed in practice today?"
"Nothing much. I'm just tryna get Dan's mothergrubbin' spins fixed. There's some moves you'll need to work on together, though."
"So I'm good?"
"So nookin' good. Like, almost-ready-to-learn-our-program good."
"Finally!" Eridan jubilantly said, flourishing his half-finished latte through the air. "A month to the tournament and we're starting to learn our program! Grubbing fabulous."
"I keep mothergrubbin' tellin' ya, man. It's all part of the plan."
"Whatever." He placed his coffee on the top of the wall. "Can we start learning right now? I've got a schedule to keep."
"Slow the grub down, dude," said Gamzee. "You still need some fine tuning."
"You mean… fine tuna?" Feferi joked.
"Heheh. You betcha." Gamzee grinned. Eridan did not.
"Can I sea your progress, Eri? I'm curious," said Feferi. "What have you been working on?"
"Yeah, show her what you got, mothergrubber!" Gamzee declared.
"Fine," grumbled Eridan. Reluctantly abandoning the warmth of his latte, he pushed off towards the center of the rink. Accelerating steadily, he scraped the ice with his skates with relative finesse. It wasn't too long before he had built up enough momentum to keep himself going through a spin. When he had judged this himself, he lowered down into a sitting position on one leg. The other leg he extended in front of him, grasped by both hands. Touching his forehead to his shin, he remained in position as he rotated rapidly on the slick ice. Feferi seemed to find this position quite funny as she watched.
"Eridan!" she giggled as he folded out of the spin. "No offense or anything, but that looked ridiculous!"
"It's a simple sit spin," explained Gamzee. "But that position is called the shoot-the-quackfowl position." Feferi laughed harder, nose crinkling in pleasure.
"Wow, Eri. I hope that spin is just for building your leg strength!"
"Shut up," mumbled Eridan. "I don't need such mockery in my life right now."
"Whatever you say, Mr. Bossy!"
Eridan slumped a little, but was well aware that Feferi meant no offense. He glided back to the other trolls. "Am I done now?" he asked, picking up his drink once more.
"You've got to do a couple more spins," said Gamzee. "But afterwards you two can finally learn your mothergrubbing routine!" Eridan perked up a bit as he sipped from his latte.
"If it'll get us there, I'll do the spin some more," he said.
"I need to get my skates on," said Feferi. "Keep improving, Eri!"
"Like I have a choice." She disappeared from the room and he was left to deal with his picky instructor.
"She's a wicked catch," said Gamzee once she was out of earshot.
"She's royalty, nooklicker. Of course she's a seadweller."
"No, pun not intended. I mean, when's your next mothergrubbing makeout session?"
"What?! No, we're just moirails!"
"'Just moirails' my bulge."
"It's not like that."
"Love is a miracle. Accept it, man."
"Can we go back to perfecting my sit spin?" said Eridan, growing more uncomfortable in his denial.
"All right. But heed my words."
Sollux wasn't having the best day. He'd gotten soaked in mind honey, the voices in his head were particularly irritating, and now he'd forgotten his equipment in the skating rink locker room.
He silently cursed himself, trapped between an attitude of despair and an attitude of frustration. The voices raged on inside his divided mind, amplifying his state to increasingly uncomfortable levels. The front doors of the rink were only obstacles in his path. Although they were overcome easily, conquering the doors wasn't nearly as satisfying as he wished it would be. But he wasn't going to waste his time thinking about the doors. All he wished was that he was back at his hive with his equipment.
He almost forgot the way to the locker room in his flurry of dual annoyance. Half of him wanted to walk all the way to the other locker room on the opposite side of the building, but his more sensible half knew the closer one was the one that housed his husktop, soundboard, and several bee-powered gadgets. Sollux at last located the door to the locker room and pushed it open.
"Oh, hi, Sollux!" He was still registering the presence of the speaker as she spoke. "Forget somefin?"
"Yes… Your Highness." Feferi Peixes. Right there. Sitting on a bench, speaking to him like an equal! Her jewelry was glittering in the dim light of the concrete room, signifying her status. But her expression did not. It seemed almost like he'd known her for a long time rather than the few months they'd exchanged words.
"Good, I was wondering who that bag over there belonged to. Glad it's found its home again!"
"Yeah, that's… me." That was such a dumb thing to say. Sollux was so ashamed of himself. Feferi tilted her head a bit, examining the yellow blooded troll.
"Somefin wrong, Sol? You've got a fishy look on your face."
"Nothing, I'm just…" Think of a word, Sollux. You can do it. "... Tired."
"I sea! You've been hafin a bad day. You're so grouchy when you're feeling blue!"
"So what if I am?" Now he'd blown it. He'd snapped at the heiress!
Feferi giggled. "I think it's cute, don't you sea?"
"Umm, you… think it's cute?"
"You heard me!"
"Haha. Wow, you're funnier than you let on, Your Highness." Good. Self-deprecation. His favorite attitude. This was safe.
"I'm searious! You think I'd lie to our lighting guy?"
"I dunno, you might. I don't know you very well." Sollux accidentally raised his voice a bit too loud for his liking. Stupid duality. He inched toward his bag, avoiding all eye contact with the highblood in front of him.
"Well, that's something you should know if we're ever gonna be friends. I never lie to someone I trust!"
"Who said anything about friends?" Sollux retrieved his bag from off the hook on the wall, fulfilling his purpose. Now if he could just get out of the conversation…
"I wanna make your acquaintance eventually. You're the magic behind the show!"
"Yeah, sure. Listen, I gotta go back to my hive. I've got important work." His humbler side kicked in. "I mean, if that's okay with you. Your Highness."
"No need to call me 'Your Highness'. You're good. Sea you around, Sol!" The door shut with a thud. No parting words, no goodbyes. Just the thump of a closing door, and then silence.
Feferi sighed. Not a lovestruck, high-pitched sigh, but a heavy, doubting sigh. Did he even want to be friends? There were so many fish in the sea, but the only one she really wanted to be acquainted with was a troll who might not even be interested! She wished she had psychic powers like the middle bloods. She would have been able to read his thoughts, or maybe even discern whether he thought she was cute. Or pretty. Or anything, as long as it was as positive as the adjectives she added to his name.
But all at once, she remembered skating. And her partner. And her duty. She laced up her skates vigorously, forcing out all her other thoughts. She was going to be a top skater, and that was all she was going to focus on. At least… for the time being.
Meanwhile, Sollux was almost in hysterics there in the empty hall. He'd had such a brief encounter with Feferi, yet somehow he had managed to screw everything up. He counted. Ten things. There were ten things he regretted doing in… how many sentences? Sollux threw out all his information in an angry mental inferno. He didn't care about the statistics! He'd been a total jerk to the heiress of Alternia! He ran to the lobby, trying to move faster than his thoughts.
But something made him stop. Something not belonging to either side of his mind. Could he make this better? Sollux began pacing the polished stone tiles. He certainly didn't want to go back into the locker room. But then again, what would happen to him if he didn't? He might lose his reputation. Maybe even get culled for disrespect. Somehow, Feferi's opinion took a higher priority than the loss of his own life. But did that matter?
A troll walking past the glass doors peered inside, frowning at the strange yellow blood pacing around the lobby like an idiot. Sollux quickly strolled to the hallway, acting as if that was where he was going the whole time. His hand moved up to his face. It seemed as if he was destined to be a complete moron. He thought for a bit. If he could be a moron then, he could be a moron in front of Feferi, he decided. It only took that tiny burst of determination to send him down to the locker room door again. No regrets, he reminded himself as he grasped the door handle.
He swung the door open, but Feferi was gone. Just a vacant bench and a bunch of lockers.
Sollux released the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. However, it still wasn't over. His determined attitude carried him to the door on the other side of the room, the one leading out into the rink. No regrets. No hesitation. He yanked open the rink door and felt the cold air rush past his face.
Feferi did not see Sollux standing there in the doorway. She didn't feel the deflation of his mood or the building annoyance in the pit of his stomach. Neither did she feel the out-of-place sense of betrayal, nor would she have understood it if she had. Feferi saw only Eridan's face as she attempted to maintain perfect form under her choreographer's watchful eye. Sollux was not aware of the direction of her thoughts, only the direction of her face. Of course. It always led to Eridan. Slouching and frowning, he shut the door in front of his own face. Serves him for trying, he thought.
That wasn't his proudest moment, neither was it his best day. In fact, it was quite the contrary. His least proud moment and his worst day. He tried his best to forget the exchange as he walked out the door, unaware of Feferi's concern for him. She had never forgotten, nor would she ever forget. But at that time and place, her skating was her passion. On the ice in the body of the building, she swept around the surface, poised and perfect. She left her worries for tomorrow as she pursued her dream, one step at a time. Sollux would have to wait.
And he did.