You have been hanging out in Feferi's room with her and some of the humans whose names you still haven't bothered to learn.
At first you weren't interested in the idea of recreating a human holiday, but then the excitable male human who likes adventuring explained more about it. He told you that Halloween was about placating restless spirits and decorating things with skulls.
You are kind of fond of that human. You still can't be bothered to learn his name though.
Anyways, all of that planning and excitement has made you hungry, so you go to the nutrition block to find something to eat.
Tavros is looking through the freezer when you get there. His back is to you.
"Greetings Tavros." You say. He jumps when he hears your voice. You guess he must have not heard you come in.
"Oh. Uh, hi Aradia." He says without turning around. You open a cabinet and rifle through it for something to eat. You find a box of crackers, which you deem suitable for consumption.
You open the box and take a cracker, watching Tavros as you eat it.
He grabs something from the freezer and turns away from you. As he walks towards the door, you notice he is limping slightly and clutching his side.
"Tavros?" You say. He stops. "Are you alright?"
"Uh, of course, yes."
You put down the box of crackers thoughtfully and come up behind him. You place your hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch, and turn him around so that you can see his face.
There are bruises all over his head and neck. One eye is swollen shut. Crusty brown blood is dried to his lip and chin. You blink.
"What happened?" You ask, as if you didn't already know.
"Uh, I can't say." He says, fiddling with the hem of his shirt with one hand. The other hand holds a bag of ice.
"And why can't you?"
"I promised I wouldn't."
You nod as if you understand, which you do. Well, you understand what is going on, not how a troll could ever put up with the amount of bullshit Serket throws at this kid.
You kind of pity him (in a platonic way of course) so you motion for him to hand over the bag of ice. You direct Tavros over to a stool and he sits down. You grasp his chin lightly with one hand and apply the ice to his swollen eye. You feel his jaw tighten and then relax, as he grows accustomed to the cold.
His visible eye darts around for a while, trying to find something to focus on before closing. It seems the close proximity is making him feel awkward. This does not bother you.
Suddenly, someone walks into the room. Tavros's eye opens.
"Oopth. I didn't mean to interrupt." Sollux snickers. You roll your eyes. You swear he can be such a wriggler sometimes.
When he sees Tavros's face he stops.
"What did Vrithka do thith time?"
Tavros stiffens.
"I… uh… she…she didn't… uh…"
"I thwear when I thee Vrithka…" Sollux says, ignoring Tavros's stuttered protests.
He goes to the fridge and grabs a juice box. He leans against the counter, sipping his juice. You don't really see why Sollux is getting so worked up about it, but you can't pass up the opportunity to tease him about it.
"If I didn't know any better, I would guess you were pitying Tavros."
Tavros blushes brown and opens his mouth as if he is going to say something but can't find the words. Sollux just rolls his eyes behind his multicolored glasses and flips you off.
"Fuck you." He says, "I'm thick of Therket fucking everyone over ith all. It'th like, we've all gone through tho much and had to deal with tho much thit and the's thtill pulling thith bullthit. It'th getting on my nervthe."
You nod. You can understand where he is coming from. You don't quite get why he's complaining though. It's not like you can do anything about it. You remove the ice and take a look at Tavros's eye. The swelling has gone down a bit, but it still looks puffy and brown.
"Take off your shirt." You tell him. He stiffens and looks up you.
"Uh… what?"
You are already pulling off the long-sleeved button up shirt he wears over his t-shirt. There are bruises and cuts covering his arms. You can hear Sollux grinding his teeth when he sees them.
You go to undo the snaps on the shoulders of his t-shirt, but he stops you.
"It's alright. You don't have to…"
"Tavros." You say firmly.
He drops his gaze and gives in.
"Just… don't freak out."
You undo the snaps and carefully slide the t-shirt off around his horns. You hear Sollux's breath catch in his throat a little. You can see why.
There is a giant brown bruise spread across his side. The color grows darker around his grubscars, which are oozing slightly.
You watch as Sollux slams his juice box down on the counter and storms off. You should probably go after him and stop him from doing something stupid, but you are too preoccupied with Tavros.
"I'm sorry about causing so much trouble."
You slap his cheek hard enough to sting but not enough to do any damage to his already battered face. He winces and holds his jaw as his eyes start to water. You grab his chin and force him to look at you.
"Don't you dare apologize for anything that bitch does to you. I don't want to hear that ever again."
His eyes widen. You tighten your grip on his chin slightly. He winces.
"Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes." He says, still in shock.
You let him go and return to fixing him up. You can feel his eyes boring into you the whole time.
Equius, find your moirail
Poor Tavros. Everyone walks all over that kid. :( Also Sollux is getting frustrated with Vriska. How interesting...
Headcannon! Tavros has to have snaps on the shoulders of his shirt because of his horns. Also Sollux likes juice. Just kidding that wasn't really a headcannon but why not?
Since I'm updating so early I will be releasing another update later today. :) So watch out for it. ^-^