Authors note: Okay, four important things and one unimportant thing. One: Shits gonna go down hard soon so the schedule will be fucked to heaven and back. Don't expect regular updates for a while. Two: I now have a account and I am diminishedDiscordian. Don't like it? Get over it. Three: Call me crazy because that's what I am for taking on two more stories when this one is still in the works. One will be on my account, where I hope to move the others one day. And the other one is Legend of Link: Heroine of Time. Op3ratic's schedule is too busy to write anymore of it so I'm taking over. I literally have nothing else to do hobby-wise. I have no life. Four: This is the end of the first arc, yes the first. There will be more and loose ends will be tied up. But there will be a break between this and the next arc. Hopefully this'll cancel out number one. Unimportant thing: I'd love to hear any and all feed back on this. Speculations, confusing things, straight up ranting, anythings welcome. Who knows you might just give me an idea. Oh yeah, and if you could shamelessly promote this that'd be great. God this got long fast. Whatever, new chapter!
Chapter twelve: of dogs, visits, and foreshadowing.
You were wondering when he'd come out with it. It's been a while since she came, and he's known the entire time. Well you have too, but that doesn't mean anything. Unfortunately not everyone was as adaptable as you. Rose was, so were Dave and Roxy. But you think they knew too. John and Jake took the worst of it. But Jane tries even though she's not quite used to it yet. She's a nice girl.
Your name is Jade Harley. Right now you're not really doing much. Just playing with Bec. But things have been happening. Big things. For one: Dad told everyone that Beth and the others will be living near our village. Then he had to explain everything to everyone. Some things were news to you. Like Feferi being royalty, and that Dirk and Dave aren't actually brothers. You never saw that one coming. But most things you dreamed about a while ago. You hope Jake's taking everything well and not planning on doing something stupid. He's usually really good about accepting changes, but now everything he knows is changing. That and the fact that Bethany isn't exactly the best person for Jake to meet. You are Jade Harley and you hope nothing too bad happens.
You hear footsteps and look up to see John quickly walking towards you with Dave trailing behind. Dave! You're glad he's taking this well, he's been a lot happier than usual lately.
"Jade you need to help me." John says and sits on the ground next to you.
"Is this about Karkat?" You ask.
"What? No. Wait, how do you know about Karkat?" He asks.
"Oh it's still too early. Forget I said anything. Now you needed my help with something?" You say.
"Yeah. Sure. But it's about... Everything! Dad telling us to kill all Omegas that we see and showing us how bad they are to us and our survival. Then he just turns around and says that they're fine as long as we're neighbors with them! Please tell me this is just some horrible prank!" He says and grabs your arm.
"I'm guessing you've already talked to the others about this." You say.
"Yeah, but they all gave me the same advice!" He says.
"Hey, my advice was perfect." Dave says walking up behind John.
"You told me to "Get over it." how is that good advice?!" John says.
"It's amazing advice. Straight from the mouth of your local God, Dave Strider." Dave says.
"John, Dave's right. But blunt. Really there's no way for you to go against this without being seen as a huge ass. Sure it was unexpected, but don't you think you can adapt like the rest of us? Look at Dave, he's probably had the same problems you are since he's in your group too. You just have to accept it John. Let go of the past." You say.
John sighs. "That's pretty much what Rose told me to do. Alright. I'll try to get over it. Thank anyway Jade." He says with a sad smile. He gets up and starts walking away.
"I'd better go make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Dave says.
You stand and stop him. "I think it'd be better if we just let him be for now." You say. You have absolutely no ulterior motives for stopping him. "Now, you seem way too happy for me to not meddle a bit. So spill!" Nope. No other motives at all.
"Well aren't you gossipy today. But no. There's no happy, and there's no reason for the nonexistent happy." He says.
"You can't fool me Dave. I can see it on your face. You're practically bursting with joy!" You say.
He pauses. "This is part of your freaky 'knowing shit before it happens' shtick, isn't it."
"No. Okay maybe a little." You say.
"Damn. Guess I really can't hide any shit from you. I'll give you the condensed version. I have my eye on someone, and they cannot escape the Strider charm. You could call it me prematurely celebrating a victory." He says.
You gasp. Dave has a crush on someone! You hope against hope that it's you. You throw your arms around him. "Who is it?! Tell me tell me tell me!" You say.
"Whoa there Harley, I ain't no gossip queen. You're just going to have to wait in silence like every one else until I make the announcement." He says gently pushing you off.
"Aw man! Alright. So how're they settling in?" You ask.
"I've been too busy keeping everyone and their brother from flipping their shit about it to check up on them. Since you're oh so curious, why not go stalk them yourself?" He says and starts walking away.
You stick out your tongue at his retreating form. Although that is a pretty good idea. Except for the stalking part. You should go check up on them. After all if the majority is taking it this badly then how would the minority be?! You head over to their houses in the forest. Beth is living there too now so she'll be easy to find. You wonder what they'll be like. You hope they're not too mean. But from what little you saw of them in your dreams, you think everything will turn out fine! With a little help from Bec you appear out side of their cluster of houses and walk towards the closest one.
"Hi Jade!" You hear someone call. You turn to see Cassidy waving at you from one of the porches.
"Oh, hi Cassidy. What are you doing out here?" You ask walking over to her.
"This is where I've been living ever since my house burned down. I've got a cool housemate too!" She says.
"How did that even happen?" You ask
"I don't know. I don't even know why I didn't wake up. Usually I'm a really light sleeper." She says.
"You were probably just really tired. I know I can get like that when big things are happening." You say and sit down next to her.
"True. Any reason you're here?" She says.
"Oh right! I came here to make sure that everyone was adjusting well. Do you know where I could find any of them? I'm not sure which houses are occupied and I don't want to just barge into an empty house and start talking to myself." You say.
She shakes her head. "Sorry Jade but they're all asleep right now. Their world is darker than ours so if they come out during the day they'll go blind. They decided to go nocturnal instead of being cooped up all day. Maybe if you come back during the night you can talk to them. Although Karkat can get really angry easily and Bethy isn't very friendly either. Feferi is nice though. If you want to risk it, they're all really nice once you get to know them." She says.
"Good to know. So which one are you living with?" You ask.
"I'm living with Feferi. But I get the feeling that more trolls will be moving into the empty houses." She says.
"Really? Why do you think that?" You ask.
"Just a feeling." She answers with a shrug.
You stand to leave. "Thanks for the information Cassidy, I'll try to come back tonight to see them." And walk away with a wave.
So they're nocturnal. You suppose that makes sense. You won't be able to see them at all during the day though. You wonder just how dark their world is if they can go blind just from looking at the sun. Must be pretty freaking dark. Sure the sun is bright and if you look into it for a really long time you'll get eye damage, but going blind from just being out here? That's just plain intense. You barely hear someone talking and focus on that instead. It's coming from up a head to the right. You start that way and wonder who it could be. It sounds like a guy and they're using a lot of complicated sounding words. Doesn't sound like any of your friends. Maybe it's one of the trolls! But didn't Cassidy say trolls would be blind if they went out during the day? Your search leads you to a cave. Oh. That solves that problem. The voice is louder now, you can hear it easily from the mouth of the cave even though he's farther in.
"So as you can clearly see, it's not only wise but necessary for you to do this." He says.
"I'm... I'm still not sure about it." Another voice says. It kind of sounds like Jake.
"I would give you another lecture on why you should join us, but your time is unfortunately running short. You must leave here soon. Be sure to contemplate what I have told you. If you still have doubts in three days time come back here and I shall do my best to fares these doubts." The first voice says.
The sounds of footsteps can be heard now. Someones coming out of the cave! Should you hide? You take a look around. Shoot no good hiding places. You'll just have to act like... Something!
"Jade? What the dickens are you doing in this part of the forest? Don't you know of the many predators that lurk in this area?" Jake asks coming out of the cave.
"Hi Jake! I was going to visit the trolls to see bow they were adjusting but it turns out that they're nocturnal so I'll have to wait until nightfall to see them. Then I heard a voice from over here and followed it. Like you said there are predators in this part of the woods and I thought that whoever was here might not know about them. I came to warn them or protect them. But what are you doing here? And who were you talking too?" You ask.
"Oh just some chap I met. No one very important. I was out here hoping to clear my head about this whole dilemma and must have wandered off the beaten path in a fit of lost focus. When I observed my surroundings I found that my feet had lead me to the entrance of this cave. Come now, it wouldn't be very wise of us to dwell in such a dangerous place for any longer than need be." He says and starts walking away.
You follow behind him and observe him. Usually he's always in a good mood, but now he just looks troubled. More so than when you saw him this morning. The slump in his shoulders has gotten worse and with his slouching he looks almost exactly the opposite of his usual proud stance. Does this thing with the trolls really have him so worked up? Or was it what that guy in the cave was telling him?
"Jake what's wrong? Is it the trolls?" You ask.
"No. Maybe. I'm not so sure any longer. I'm still rather anxious about meeting them and living side by side with a people known to be violent. I myself love a good round of fisticuffs, but I wonder just how far they would be willing to take it. And just shortly before this some troll bloke tells me that I should be hating them. The fellow made an admirable case for it but I've never even met them! Forgive me for saying this Miss Harley, but something about all of this just... Feels wrong. It's not supposed to be happening. Not just the trolls living here but interfering with their plans and world at all doesn't seem right. It's like there's some... Heh, listen to me ramble on with my flights of fancy. Although I'm touched by your concern, everything will turn out to be dandy Jade. Just you wait and see." He says.
You smile. Same old Jake. No matter what he's always the optimist. You're glad that he's not taking this as hard as you though. But that part about the guy in the cave worries you a bit. Jakes always been more gullible than most people, you hope that it doesn't get him into serious trouble this time around. You two share a companionable silence during the rest of your trip back to the village and go your separate ways when you reach the edge. Him to hash things out with Jane probably. You to go talk to Rose. If anyone in the village would know how the trolls are fairing it would be her. You catch her at her house reading one of her books.
"Hey Rose. Know anything on how the trolls are doing? You know, how they're adjusting to life with humans?" You ask.
"It seems rather early to start asking that to me. After all, Mr. Egbert only announced it yesterday morning. I would wait at least a week before asking. But I suppose you knew they were here before it was announced." She says closing her book on her finger to keep her place and looking up at you.
"Yep! I knew they were here a while ago. I guess what I mean to ask is: do you think they'll cause any trouble for us?" You ask.
"I don't think so. This is the only place they would be welcome from what I've heard. Even the most violent trolls would hold their temper if that were the case. No, there's nothing to worry about on that front." She says.
"That's good. I'd hate for anyone to get into a fight because of someones temper." You say.
"Don't underestimate a humans capacity to be thickheaded Jade. There's more than one person in our village alone that would like to see them dead." She says.
"But no ones met them yet! How cam you hate someone you've never even seen?" You say.
"It is a rather absurd thing to do. But that's how some people are." She says.
You think back to what Jake said. "Rose, do you think that Jake is one of those people?" You ask.
"No I should think not. While he does infuriate me at times, he tends to accept everyone no matter their perceived flaws. Why do you ask?" She says.
"Just something he told me about." You say.
The two of you talk for a bit longer before you leave. For the rest of the day, time seems like it's purposely dragging it's feet. By the time night falls you're already on your way to their houses. You're just so excited to meet new people! It's not like you get to every day. You see a male troll while you're walking. But he's talking with John so you don't stop to talk to him. You cam meet him later. There's still another troll and Beth for you to meet anyway. You also see what looks like someone in a dress, but they're in the shadows so you can't quite tell. They're talking to somebody too. Somebody that looks a lot like Dirk. You make a mental note to ask him about that later. You don't have any string though, so you'll try to remember and keep walking. When you get there you see three figures. Once Cassidy and you assume the others are who you're here to meet.
"Hi Cassidy!" You say almost bouncing up to her.
"Hi Jade. This is Feferi and Bethany. Gals this is a friend of mine, Jade." She says.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Jade!" Feferi says.
"Aye." Is all that Bethany says. She looks angry. Or annoyed. Or both.
"I would introduce you to Karkat but I don't know where he is right now." Cassidy says.
"It's fine, I'm sure I'll run into him sooner or later." You say to her. Then to the others you say "I hope you two are liking the human world so far."
"It's wonderful! There's so much more untamed land here and there's lobsta more diversity in the wildlife. Or maybe that's because we have different kinds back home." Feferi says.
"It does have a sort of care free charm about it. Truth be told the atmosphere back there was way too oppressive. No offense Princess." Beth says.
"None taken. When I become Condesce that'll be shore to change." Feferi says.
"Whats a condesce?" You ask.
Both Feferi and Beth give You surprised looks. Beth recovers first, though, and starts speaking. "Her Condesce is the ruler of the troll world."
"Oh, so since Feferi's a Princess does that make her Her Condesces daughter?" You ask.
Beth shakes her head. "No. You should understand that trolls don't have relatives like humans do. No one bothers to keep track of their blood line. Some say that you could be killed for doing so. The only relation between Her Condesce and Princess Feferi is that they are both Tyrianbloods. As such, when their shared luses deems that the time has come the Princess and Her Condesce will do battle for the throne. If Princess Feferi dies then Her Condesce will keep the throne until the next Tyranbloods is hatched." She says.
"Wait, the succession of the throne is done with a fight to the death?!" You say.
"Yes. How does your culture do it?" Feferi asks.
"For us when our current ruler dies the first borne son takes the throne." You say.
"Ours would probably go like that too, except for the fact that Her Condesce has been alive for millennia and still looks to be in her prime." Beth says.
"Oh. Now the killing thing makes a lot more sense." You say.
Feferi asks you to give her a tour of your village, bit you decline saying that since your not nocturnal even doing this is going past your usual sleeping schedule. You tell them all goodnight and make your way back.
You're glad that Dad chose to include them and bot kill them. They're nice, or at least interesting and polite in Beths case. Besides, unnecessary killing is wrong. If they cause a ruckus on the other hand, you might have to do something about them. Then there's what Rose said about people not liking them. You'll have to keep an eye on them too. If one of them was to hurt your new friends then that will probably make one of your new friends hurt them! Then there'd be a huge fight, and trolls don't usually stop until they're dead. Then there's Jake and that guy in the cave. It seems like this situation is going to go south no matter what you do. Doesn't mean you aren't going to try though! Maybe you could get Janes help on the matter. Maybe Dave's group could help too. It's kind of their job anyway. You've got this. You've so got this. You go to bed with a feeling of peace settling over you.
You've so obviously got this.