Vriska sat up in the motel bed, blinking slightly as she looked around the room. It was an unusual way to sleep but it was kind of nice. She glanced around the room, looking for the other troll. She sank back into the bed, rubbing her head.
Vriska was floating in a state of half awareness, not hearing when the shower turned on in the bathroom next to her. It seemed like she were in a dream, the breath of someone she held dear touching her cheek. She felt strange, tangled up in the sheets but she almost didn't care that it was something that she wasn't used to.
Distantly, she heard the shower click off, the mutterings of someone as they walked into the main room. The muttering caused Vriska to jerk awake, fumbling with her glasses to get a better look at the other troll before remembering where she was.
"Good afternoon," Nepeta said cheerfully, walking over to where she had a spare set of clothes.
Vriska blinked slightly, rubbing her head. "What time is it?" She muttered, shaking her head.
"Around four or five at night. Sun won't be down for another two hours or so, but it is heading towards autumn currently, so...do you want food?" Nepeta asked, glancing away.
"That sounds like a plan. Do you have a permanent hive you reside in since you don't seem to have any plans on leaving?" Vriska asked, sitting up and stretching out her arms.
"Yeah, I went there to feed my cats earlier." Nepeta said with a smile. "I thought it would be best for you to continue sleeping. You did seem a bit tired."
"I wouldn't put it past you to have cats." Vriska mused, more to herself than the other. She nodded, glancing around the room before standing and fetching her jacket. "I'm curious about this hive of yours."
"You can use it while you are here, if you want." The other troll said, watching her before quickly glancing away and making the way to the door. "And I have the night off you would like to be shown around and stuff."
"I plan on staying here for a long time Nepeta," Vriska promised, pulling on her jacket and grabbing her glasses off the night stand. "Let's go,"
Nepeta smiled, turning to head out the door. Vriska studied the other troll, noting that she had let her hair grown out and that she seemed to have a different attitude. It was strange to hear the troll talk without use of cat puns, though it suited her quite well. "What happened to your jacket and hat?" She asked after a moment, following Nepeta through the hotel before they headed out onto the streets, a taxi waiting for them.
"I...still have them, I just don't have the time to wear them I would say...I didn't feel right wearing them either." Nepeta admitted quietly after telling the taxi driver the address.
"Why wouldn't you feel right wearing them? You spent about nine sweeps wearing something and then you just come and ditch it?" Vriska mused, impressed despite herself.
"Sometimes I had to do what I had to do to fit in and I mean come on, I already have horns and am gray. Did I need to add "cat obsessed cave dweller on that list?" Nepeta sighed.
"I suppose you can look at that way." Vriska agreed after a moment, turning to her gaze to look at the humans milling about the sidewalk. "Why are there so many people interested in this place?"
"The Strip is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Vegas." Nepeta said, relaxing slightly as the taxi pulled away from the congested street. "So you seem to be better off then the last time I saw you." She mused.
"Yeah, well, a lot has changed. But I still have my lucky dice." Vriska grinned, pulling the D8s out of her pocket with a grin. "I want to see how lucky I can get here."
"And if you are caught cheating?" Nepeta inquired. "We did not have such laws in Alternia. A little cheating here and there was highly encouraged as to outwitting the trolls you were up against. And of course, you could kill other trolls without much consequence but here they have a justice system that make Terezi proud."
"I wouldn't be caught cheating of course and what kind of street names are these? Flamingo? Decatur?" Vriska asked, glancing at some of the street names as they were passing them.
"I live on Flapjack," Nepeta mused.
"And I thought these names couldn't get any weirder..." Vriska sighed, lapsing into a comfortable silence.
Nepeta smiled when the taxi stopped in front of the small house, handing money to the man and climbing out, beckoning Vriska to follow. She obliged, watching the other troll as she pulled a set of keys out and unlocked the door. "Not something that either of us are used to, but I really like it." Nepeta said, holding the door open for Vriska.
"It looks like a great place for a hive. I'm just surprised that you don't have your shipping doodles all over the walls." Vriska said, shaking her head very slightly.
"I'm pretty sure the landlord would disapprove if I tried doing that here. She is a really strict person but the only one that was willing to take me in. So I try not to upset her. As it was, it was hard trying to get her to let me have my cats." Nepeta said, patting on that was lounging on the back of the chair.
"How many cats do you have?" Vriska asked.
"About four or five, but some are outside cats, though I think the neighbors aren't too pleased with them being outside most of the time." Nepeta sighed. "Or that I live around them actually, come to think of it. And because I'm pretty sure they hate me, I'm unsure of how they will take to you..."
Vriska watched as Nepeta frowned, shaking her head with a smile. "I'm sure it'll be fine," Vriska said after a moment, "and if not, I can take care of myself."
Nepeta shook her head, smiling after a moment. "Equius always warned me about you." She said quietly, looking down quietly. "He said you killed trolls for your lusus. I've always wondered about that..."
"You know that a lot of us had to kill lusii or trolls to feed our lusus, at the very least Feferi and I did." Vriska shrugged, plopping down on the couch after moving a cat out of her way. "I suppose it was a normal thing to do. Our lusii all taught us something."
Nepeta nodded, letting out a sigh. "I named my white cat Pounce because she reminds me of Pounce." She admitted, picking up the recently moved cat with a smile. "Except the two mouths. I haven't seen any cat like that. Is it true that the humans want to visit Alternia?"
"Yeah, but for obvious reasons, Feferi really doesn't want that happening and says they should be content with learning about the trolls from those that are allowed to visit. Eridan thinks we could take over this planet with ease but I think that stems from mostly wanting to be doing something instead of doing nothing like he currently is doing. I feel bad for the pair, they have to run Alternia and keep the trolls from overwhelming the human world. So many want to see this place." Vriska mused.
"Do you think Karkat would have lived longer if he had come here?" Nepeta asked quietly, "I had been thinking about it a lot recently and I think he would have liked it here."
"I'm not sure if he would have lived longer, but at the very least, he would have been amazed at a whole race of people with the same color blood as him...right?" Vriska asked.
"He wouldn't have been thought of as a mutant. I think he would have lived longer here, at the very least maybe a sweep or two with the medicine that they have. But he was predisposed to die earlier then any of us. I mean, look at his ancestor. He tried to start a revolution and he was killed for it. They were both filled with anger and Karkat may have just gotten himself killed if he lived here. His last sweep was not spent in pain." Vriska added, looking down with a sigh. "You're just going to get depressed listening to me talk like this."
"I'll be fine." Nepeta said, shaking her head. "I like hearing about our friends...even if they are...dead." She sighed.
Vriska got up, turning to shoo a cat from her. "Don't you start with this. You aren't okay with it and we should just stop talking about it. Why don't you tell me the names of your cats?"
"The white one is Pounce, the Siamese one is The Disciple, the black and gray one is named Gamzee since she reminds me of his pants, and then my two outside cats don't have names yet. I've been trying to think of names...but they kind of remind me of Seadwellers since they also like rain." Nepeta said, stroking the white cat.
The black and gray cat yawned, jumping up on Vriska's lap and curling up, tail twitching as the Siamese cat sat down, gaze trained on Gamzee. "Perhaps you should name them after Eridan and Feferi? Then I could go seadweller hunting." Vriska grinned.
"I had thought of that, but I decided against it. They don't seem to fit the names. I'm sure I'll come up with something eventually." She mused, watching the cats.
Vriska pushed the cat off her lap, shaking her head with a slight sigh. "You mentioned food earlier. What are we going to do for food?"
"I can make something, it wouldn't be that great, but I'm sure I won't completely burn your food." She mused. "I tend to either under cook it or overcook it with no in between."
"It can't be any worse then what I've tried to cook before." Vriska shrugged. "Besides, you have to learn to be able to eat anything that you can scrounge up. Why don't we try cooking together?" She offered.
"That sounds like a lot of fun." Nepeta grinned, setting Pounce down and proceeding from the living room to the kitchen, glancing at the back door to spot two orange and white cats with a small shake of her head before letting them in. "These are the other two."
"They seem skinny," Vriska commented. "Are they supposed to be that skinny?"
"They mostly eat whatever they can catch. And sometimes bring me birds to cook. Best presents my little cats could bring. I'm proud of them that they could catch little animals and kill them." Nepeta grinned.
"You eat the animals that they bring you..." Vriska said, shaking her head. "I suppose it's better than catching your own food. And I'm sure being a bar tender can't pay that much."
"Between that and my side job, I get enough tips to live off of decently. Plus if I'm ever hungry enough, I can go hunting for birds. Of course, the neighbors try to intervene, but what do they know of a troll who lived in a cave?"
Vriska shook her head at Nepeta's statement, deciding to let it slide. "Don't you miss Alternia?" Vriska asked as Nepeta looked through her cabinets and fridge.
"I guess I do at times, but I met a good set of friends. They've been talking to Feferi and some of the other trolls. Perhaps you know one of them?" Nepeta asked.
"Not that I can recall. I try to not deal with the humans as much as I can. I really don't want to interact with them if it's not something that I have to do. Now that I'm here, I'll be interacting with them more, but I just really want to try my luck at their gambling." Vriska grinned.
"You had best not get caught because I don't think I would be able to get you out of jail and Feferi might be mad." Nepeta sighed.
Vriska merely grinned, turning to help with the food. "I'm here to find my way and figure out what I want to do with my life. I would love to be a pirate like my ancestor, but there is no one that I can pit myself against that would be worth my time. I may return to the thoughts of becoming a pirate when I return to Alternia, but as for now I am unsure of what life holds for me. I want to test my luck and this is the best way to do it."