Author's Note: This entire chapter is Kanaya's perspective. You probably could have figured that out, but I feel it is necessary to say anyways. Also, sorry about really messing up Porrim in advance, it fits the plot better this way though. Remember to review; I want to improve. Enjoy!
Kanaya walked through the wrought-iron gates, looking for Porrim's car. Her arm waving out the window caught Kanaya's attention. After all, it was a very distinctive arm, what with all of the strange tattoos. She got into the passenger's seat, placing her bag at her feet. Immediately, Porrim began interrogating her all about her first day of high school while they waited for the cars ahead to move.
"So, who are you thinking about?" Porrim asked, seemingly able to read her mind.
"Oh, just a boy I met-"
"Oh aren't we the lucky girl! What does he look like?"
"It's not that kind of thing," Kanaya said, a blush coloring her face, "I saw him get beaten up really badly by some football player. From his breathing, I could tell that he broke a rib…" Kanaya told her sister everything about her experiences with Karkat that day.
"…When he finished, he looked at me like I was the only person who'd ever shown him kindness. He smiled, just briefly, and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Looking out the window, Kanaya saw Karkat walk right past their car. She waved at him, telling him to get in. "Can you drive him home, Porrim? Please?"
"I have no reason not to. Go get him and we'll take him back to his home."
Kanaya got out of the car, but returned with no Karkat. "He doesn't want to come. I guess he's still not able to trust me yet." She slumped slightly in her seat.
"Don't feel bad Kanaya. If what you suspect is true, it will take a lot more than a day to get him to trust anyone." The cars in front of theirs started moving. "Now, let's get home, shall we?"
The Maryam girls' route took them towards the center of the city. Kanaya lived with her mother Rosa in an expensive high-rise, and Porrim was leaving the next day to teach Psychology at Skaia University, Home of the Frogs. As they drove, both lapsed into a friendly silence. In actuality, Porrim was Kanaya's half sister, the product of Rosa's first marriage. Despite the age gap, the two were as close as sisters could be.
Porrim stopped outside the high-rise. "Sorry I can't come up with you, I need to finish packing. I'll be here at 7:30 tomorrow to take you to school and say goodbye," she promised.
"Well, see you tomorrow!" With that, Kanaya left Porrim's car and went into the glittering glass tower. The doorman tipped his hat to her as she went in, she returned the gesture with a broad smile. The elevator shafts were on the outside of the building, with glass walls so that the occupants could gaze out over the city. This was Kanaya's favorite time of day: the late afternoon.
The dying summer sun bathed the city in golden light, reflecting off of the glass walls it made the whole downtown area seem like the legendary city of Cìbola. It's so beautiful, so peaceful. I wish Karkat could see this. It might do him some good. She entertained thoughts of that ilk until the elevator chimed softly, signaling her floor. Stepping out onto the carpet, she let the glass doors close behind her.
Kanaya walked down the carpeted hallways to her home. There is something to be said about the carpet however. She took no notice of it because of its familiarity, but it was truly something to behold. It was gold and purple, the purple twisting and curling in intricate knots on its golden home. She reached her door, a solid mahogany piece with a shiny brass knob and knocker.
The door opened before she could use either furnishing, and Kanaya was welcomed home by her mother. Rosa was a self-made woman, a shrewd businesswoman one minute, and a large-hearted mother the next. She, like her daughters, was tall and slim, but her personality made her seem forty pounds bigger than she really was. In short, everybody who knew her loved her dearly.
"Well, how did it go?" Rosa asked.
"Derse High is a very interesting school. The teachers are somewhat eccentric, but they do know what they are doing."
"Well, that's great on all accounts! Make any new friends?"
"Actually, I met a boy today." Pausing, she waited for her mother's outburst of purposefully embarrassing questions. When none came, she continued, "It's not in the way that you might think it is. I saw him get beaten up pretty badly, and when I tried to talk to him, he looked at me like I was going to attack him or something."
"That sounds like-"
"Abuse, I know. Anyways, he ran away before the morning assembly started, and he turned up to my second period class with a blood-soaked hoodie and a cracked skull. Eventually, I found out his name was Karkat Vantas. During lunch, I walked in through the door he was sitting right next to. He tried to run away, but I stopped him. He was trying to convince me he was fine, you know the I'm-not-hungry sort of stuff. He actually did a pretty good job of it, except his stomach grumbled so loudly I could hear it over the noise.
"So, I did what any decent human being would do and bought him lunch. He was gone by the time I got back to the table, but I found him. He was pretty terrified, but he eventually ate. With a little… prompting from me. When he had eaten (enough for about four people), he looked at me and smiled. In that brief instant, he was the most beautiful person that I have ever seen." Finished with her monologue, she glanced at her mother.
"It sounds like he has got some serious problems going on." Rosa turned to look her straight in the eye. "You let him know that any time he needs help, he can come to us."
"I'll tell him that, but I can't promise he'll actually take us up on that offer. Kindness seems to be a foreign concept to him." As Kanaya spoke, she realized that she was quite hungry. Right, I forgot to eat anything at lunch, I was so focused on Karkat. "Are we going to eat soon? I forgot to eat lunch."
"I was planning on making a nice chicken dish, but if you're hungry now there are a lot of leftovers in the fridge." She listed off a few, keeping track on her fingers, "There's a lot of good stuff. Potato soup, a bit of steak, some salad…"
"Yeah, that sounds good. I guess I'm a bit too hungry to wait for something else." Kanaya proceeded to microwave the items that needed it while her Rosa started to prepare her planned meal.
"I'll leave half of it for you for tomorrow. I'll be home late; I've got a meeting that'll run until 4:30 or so."
"That's fine, I won't be getting home until about then anyways. It certainly will be a bit of a walk." Taking her fresh-nuked meal, she sat down at the table, staring out at the golden city as she ate. When finished, Kanaya took her dishes to the sink and put them in the dishwater. She was going to wash them, but Rosa interrupted her.
"Oh, just leave them. I'll be doing my dishes later, so I'll clean them up then. You should go and shower."
"Thanks mom!" Kanaya walked off, still basking in the fading evening glow. She always treated bathing as a luxurious task; something to be enjoyed to the fullest extent. When she emerged from the shower nearly an hour later, she was accompanied out of the bathroom by a large cloud of steam and a light, floral fragrance.
After dressing once more, she returned out to the living room and watched TV with her mother until she felt tired. Heaving a massive yawn, she glanced over at the wall-mounted clock: 10:45. "Well, I suppose I'll get off to bed now."
"Good night!" her mother called out after her. Kanaya slipped under the covers and was almost instantly asleep.
She wore a dress made of gold, though it weighed nothing at all. She leaped and spun and twirled, carefree. After a time, she noticed a figure standing in a dark purple tuxedo. It was Karkat, but not Karkat as she had seen him: what he could have been. His body filled the slim suit and his eyes were bright, shining with the innocent wonder of a child. "Come and join me!" she laughed to him, reveling in the feeling of nearly flying.
"I can't. I don't know how."
Suddenly, Kanaya felt a stab of pity for him again. He didn't know this wonderful feeling? This joy? This freedom? "I can teach you. Just join me."
"I can't. I don't know how to dance."
"This isn't just a dance Karkat. It's life. Let me teach you about it." He looked at her with eyes full of the desire to do so, but something held him back. She watched in horror as he began to deflate, his eyes regaining their pain and fear, losing the joy. His once immaculate suit now hung in tatters off his newly emaciated body. Then, he vanished; a puff of smoke all that signaled his departure. Kanaya blinked away tears, but continued dancing. She did not leap as high as she had, nor twirl at such speeds as before.
Some of the light had gone from the world; something precious had been lost.
Kanaya sat up in bed, wiping away a gentle stream of tears. Her alarm chimed, and she turned it off reflexively. She cleaned her face in the bathroom, then got dressed. She had a large collection of homemade garments: Rosa had taught her how to make her own clothing. Now dressed in a loose, light, flowing skirt and its matching top, she exited her room to eat breakfast. Porrim was already there and had made a delicious-smelling breakfast of pancakes topped with freshly sliced fruit.
"Well, good morning!" Porrim called out in a singsong voice, grinning broadly.
"Good morning to you too, Porrim. Wow, this smells fantastic!"
"Thanks, I decided to make you and mom breakfast before I leave. I probably won't see you until winter break, but I'll be sure to keep in touch. I'll try to call every weekend, but I might not be able to."
"Of course." Kanaya took a plate from the cabinet and tried to take a few pancakes, but Porrim swatted her hand with a spatula.
"Not yet! We're going to eat as a family."
Kanaya murmured her assent, and then sat down at the table to watch the sun rise over the city. She heard her mother come out into the kitchen and repeat the same ritual, nearly word-for-word. After a few more minutes, the Maryam family all sat down together at the kitchen table and ate as a family, all while watching the city turn ruby in the sunrise.
"That color, right there, that's the color Karkat's eyes are."Kanaya said, breaking the early morning silence. "Such a lovely color…"
Porrim wrinkled her forehead in surprise, "You didn't tell me he had ruby eyes!"
"Nor did you tell me." Rosa added.
"Oh, did I not? I'm sorry. They're a deep, rich ruby red, but they're so full of pain and fear. I want to take that darkness out of them. Replace the pain with joy, the fear with wonder. He needs someone to care about him."
Her sister and mother both agreed with this, and they lapsed again into an awestruck silence as the sun turned their city into a crystal kingdom, throwing rainbow light in every direction as the sun shone down on a new day.
Author's Note: In this world, dream bubbles/dream sharing is not a thing. Karkat's and Kanaya's dreams were not shared. Also, the pace of the story is going to speed up. I'll start covering a day or a week in a single chapter. This is the part of the story where time flies and small progress is made. Remember to review! Thank you so much for reading! Next update: Tomorrow!