My head cannons are that all merfolk is naturally good at anything that involves music, which includes dancing and instrument playing, and that fangs are retractile so they only show when they want for half-humans, half-trolls have no use for such thing. Also human form comes with free hoods not to be mistaken to those used by night vale residents ever
Had to cut the chapter due to lack of inspiration
6. Introductions
Walking in two legs was weird, Robin had them on this island with time to spend, which was a good thing because Karkat had never been on land before knowing that it would break the spell that hid his blood in grey, he was now being taught how to walk by the ginger queen herself, Benedict helps too, so far Karkat has managed to walk and run without falling too much, dancing is easier as it resembles swimming somehow, or maybe it's because of his marine half, he asked Robin but she can't quite explain it since everyone in merfolk can dance naturally so it could go either way, Benedict stays out of the dancing with the excuse of playing his flute, by the time the pirates are there he's walking as well as Benedict, not like Robin, she tells him that her grace is something she learned from sweeps of training, the fact that she uses the word sweep instead of year makes Karkat smile slightly. The queen is the one to approach the captain, moving like she's still floating in the water, and then signs for them to follow
The troll lets his eyes roam through the people he sees, the first one to catch his eye is the one dress flashier, by the ridiculous hat, he guesses he's the captain, he has blonde hair as far as he can see and black eyes for some reason, the next one he notices looks very much like the first only younger and has no ridiculous hat, the third one is a female that also looks like them but has pink eyes, she has a smaller version of the hat
"I like the welcoming crew, I zuppoze the rest iz in your zhip" said Robin
"I see you still apply the all welcome policy" said the captain
"Againzt what you may believe of me I don't actually make the professiez Ztrider, I juzt zee them through" said Robin
"With a troll?" he asked
Karkat growled at the sound of that, Benedict stepped up before he could do anything
"I'd recommend you'd watch your words human, the fangs are not just for show" said Benedict
An eyebrow rises at him, the male's attention on him as if he had just appeared in front of him; he then looked at Robin who smirked
"Thiz iz my kingdom'z bane, he likez to bite" said Robin
Benedict hissed lowly, his fangs flashing for a second, Karkat decided right there that he likes the merman, by the looks of it the pirate had reached a similar conclusion for he was smiling
"Hello again Dave, Roxy, been a while hazn't it?" said Robin
"Hello Robs! Nice to see you again" said Roxy
The smaller blonde, Dave apparently, gave only a slight nod, Karkat doesn't quite know what to think of him yet, he's weary of the older male, the female gives off a presence like Robin's, only much less experienced or aware, it occurred to him that she could make a good leader if she needed to, and to top it off she would probably take the reins if it came to it, he could appreciate that in someone
"I can zenze two of my kin in your zhip, I'm guezzing a male and a…
Violet eyes widened before a smile started forming on her lips
"And a little witch" she finished
Karkat saw a quick almost invisible outburst of magic coming from Benedict, while all mythic creatures could feel each other at a certain distance magical ones had much more showy reactions, the fact that the red head had caught on the presence was a huge sign of how much experience she really had
Dirk knew the look on the mermaid's face, he had seen it first when they met all those years ago, it was a good thing the mermaid looked about the same as back then, he finally decided to guide these three to the ship, he was still weary of the troll but he seemed just as weary of him so he could probably keep an eye on him, Robin was nothing if not a schemer and he knew this well enough to trust her better judgment, and it wouldn't be the first troll on the ship anyways, the red coloring on his eyes did interest him though, as far as he knew trolls didn't have that tone of red in their blood scheme, he would have to ask the on-board expert on that matter
Once on the ship a faint grayish-blue light covers the boat for a moment, followed by a much brighter violet light, they're answered by a green one from the opposite side, the first two overlap, the violet on top, and they both clash like waves upon the green one, such is the way merfolk of magic greet themselves and recognize they're there, seeing it is weird though, Dirk remembers his first encounter with Robin and her asking whether he had ever wondered about why the eyes of his family were different from other humans', and with his negative the comment of 'jeez kid, for a human you have a worrying lack of curiozity', they both had been ten years younger back then and she liked acting like some kind of immortal being just because she was a couple hundred older than him
Jade came out to greet them in person, only to scream in an extreme high pitch when she saw the red hair and run to her grabbing her hands
"By Calypso! You're- you're…
Robin chuckled
"Robin Arezta, yez, and you are Jade Harley, which in training" said Robin
"Oh my gods" said Jade
She was positively fuming, Dirk approached them smiling slightly
"Don't go killing my crew Aresta" he said
"I might not be able to ztop it" said Robin smiling
She then released herself before giving Jade a warm smile and looking at the ship, she smiled with a hint of nostalgia and pride, what a mess had this ship been
"I need to warm my troll becauze you apparently have one here" said Robin
She walks to where her companions are standing; she talks to them in the language of merpeople, the troll says a few things in Alternian but is soon reassured by the mermaid in, much to Karkat's surprise, the same language, it was the first time he heard her speak with no lisp, also the first time he had heard anyone related to humans speak it, mostly because humans didn't have the vocal chords for it, but Robin spoke it precisely toning it appropriately, it made him wonder just what exactly she was
Soon enough all seven crew members stood in front of Robin's group, Karkat made a point to looks at them; first he focused on the troll Robin had warned him about. She was a jade troll for what he could see, also a rainbow drinker if the fangs were anything to go by, that or a syren but he'd like to believe humans aren't that stupid. Then he moved to the human standing at her side, a female that resembled Roxy but with a much different air to her, Karkat figured that maybe in another place and another time she could've been a good sorceress of some kind, which was a mystery though, she had violet eyes that rivaled Robin's so trolls would probably listen to her, her skin was barely tanned despite her being a pirate. Then there was the witch, she had long wavy black hair and bright green eyes, she liked being out in the light if her skin was to tell, she had an exited smile
A boy much like the witch but with blue eyes stood smiling in the dorkiest way possible; Karkat immediately decided that he was annoying, whether or not he was right about this? Only time would tell; he's the last one of the crew it seems, he wonders if they're analyzing them as well, Robin said that if worse came to worse she would use her powers to protect him from the other troll, the fact that she hissed it at him in perfect Alternian had helped him believe it
Names flew right and left, positions did as well, the captain, Dirk was his name apparently, told Robin they needed a navigator and Robin all but dragged Benedict in front of her
"He haz a connection with ztarz, alzo a great inner compazz, let him take a look at the mapz" said Robin
Benedict shook her hands off him and gave her a glare that she smiled at, how in the world he could get away with such a thing was beyond Karkat; the merman then huffed and looked at the captain in the most annoyed way possible
"You'll take a look at them then?" asked Dirk
"Fine, whatever" said Benedict
"Works for me, this way" said Dirk
Violet eyes moved to the pale troll, a smile still on the freckled face, Karkat stayed behind her knowing fully it was a protective pose, one that said 'trade with caution or else'
==Meanwhile