Cherubplay

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Gamzee wrapped his arms around his waist when Tavros's circled his neck, returning the nuzzles and smiling widely. "If you want eggs, I think I can make eggs," he said. "I'll go get started cookin'." He lingered in the tent for a few moments for another kiss, not able to get enough of them. Then he regretfully separated from his matesprit..../his matesprit/ he thought gleefully, grinning like a fool at the thought, and left the tent. He gave Wocky a little pet before gathering up some of the cut grass from the night before, digging a shallow hole in the dirt so the whole dry field wouldn't catch, and made a small fire so he could cook a quick breakfast for all of them.

Eridan threw his own pack out, then left the tent again leaving the tent deconstruction in her capable hands. He was pleased it wasn't going worse with Vriska, maybe even improving a little, and settled next to the small fire, watching Gamzee cook vacantly.

2014-07-31 19:14:47
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Vriska busied herself with taking down the tent, -which she thought she did efficiently and much better than her companion- swiftly taking it apart and placing the dismantled shelter into her pack. She walked to the Jabberwocky, who she assumed was now affectionately dubbed 'Wocky' and looked it over inquisitively. The genderless creature was utterly fascinating in its calm state like this, and Vriska almost couldn't imagine how bloodthirsty she had been before; it was still just an animal, a misunderstood one at that, and she could understand being persecuted and hated on the basis of appearance. "I'm Vriska Serket," She introduced, remembering Tavros saying something about the creature being able to understand just normal speech, "And I cannot beeeeeeeelieve you're so tranquil! All this time, I had thought you were some kind of mindless beast, but you're actually much smarter than that. Who would've guessed." She certainly never had many reasons to go seeking the Jabberwocky, and it was nice to know that it probably didn't dine on the flesh of coldbloods.

Leaving the tent shortly after Gamzee, Tavros set to taking down the tent, but it proved difficulty with his impaired shoulder. Vriska, seeing this, came over and shooed him away from the tent, stating matter-of-factly that he shouldn't try to take something apart when he couldn't even raise his arm past his head.

2014-07-31 19:22:48
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Remembering how the others liked their eggs from the day before, Gamzee quickly cracked and cooked them, seasoning them again as they warmed. Toasting bread was a little harder, but the other purple blooded troll sitting beside him helped out a little and made it easier. Things looked a little brighter today, with everyone helping each other out with these little tasks. He liked it much better that Vriska was being nice to Tavros, especially with his new found returned affections only making his care for his friend stronger. Idly he wondered what the Jabberwocky did eat. Certainly they didn't have enough food to feed it as well as themselves. Letting his mind wander as the eggs finished, he decided to leave the face paint off for the day, until they got closer to Undlegire where he would need it again.

"Breakfast!" he called when the eggs were done, handing Eridan his since he was closest, then dishing up the other two when their recipients arrived to receive them.

2014-07-31 19:39:47
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Tavros laughed at her meddling, thinking it was kind of cute and, to an extent, almost motherly. He let her assist him, taking down the tent relatively easily. Vriska packed it away with Gamzee's things as opposed to Tavros's so he would have less to carry on his back.

The Jabberwocky, seeing that its new friends were about to eat, determined that it may as well find some critters to munch upon itself. The beast lurched upwards and shook like a dog, a couple more feathers falling from it as it lumbered away, then stretched its wings fully. It crouched down, then leapt into the sky and flapped its mighty wings, soaring through the air and disappearing past trees. Tavros figured that the animal needed nourishment of its own, and he plopped down beside Gamzee when the announcement of food was made.

Thanking him kindly, Tavros took his egg on toast and bit into it happily. Vriska took hers with a polite 'thanks' and ate. It seemed that she was in a better mood today, perhaps because she was sitting on the other side of Tavros and indulging in his gleeful chatter.

2014-07-31 20:54:34
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Vriska's packing of the tent with his things suited Gamzee just fine. When he initially packed the bags he'd put all the heavier things in his so Tavros wouldn't have to carry them, but loaded his with the fluffier lighter blankets so it wouldn't look any different. Since his shoulder got hurt, he was thinking of taking his bag altogether, but thought there might have been some protest to that idea from the brown blood.

He smiled a little at her polite thanks, feeling no animosity towards her, even if she didn't like him very much. He didn't care what she thought about him, used to all the unkind words by now having suffered them for sweeps, only really caring about her treatment of Tavros (and when she'd been indirectly attempting to sully his character directly to his friend), which was much improved from when they'd first met.

He enjoyed his own breakfast, leaving the fire going for them while he finished packing up the last of their things, ready to get on the road as soon as everyone else was done with breakfast.

2014-07-31 21:19:34
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Vriska finished her breakfast first, patting crumbs from her trousers and hands as she sat back and looked over at Tavros questioningly, "Alright, Captain. What's on the agenda?"

She had caught him in a chew, and Tavros chewed and swallowed before answering, "Just more walking today, really. I want to get to Undlegire tonight, and find someplace to stay."

Vriska scoffed, "Do you really think it will be so easy, Alice? You can't just go walking into midblood country with three lowbloods in tow without garnering some looks. Those morons will probably think we're for sale," The resentment was clear in her tone and expression, and Tavros patted her shoulder comfortably, "Something will work out! Even, uh, if we cannot find anyplace to stay in that is, nice, we have our tents and stuff. I would much rather if all of us, had a bed, though," He finished up his breakfast as well, then stood, "I feel bad that we have had to sleep on the ground so often. It probably, is no good for our backs."

She frowned, though it looked a bit forced this time around, as she really just wanted to smile a bit up at him, "Oh, worry about yourself for once, will ya?"

2014-07-31 21:24:56
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"You shouldn't be all that worried, Hattie, you're nearly a mid-blood yourself. Only a step away," Eridan commented, somewhat bitter. "Even in red country from where they came from blue bloods are common. If anyone is going to be considered a slave here it's us violets, rare and 'exotic' as we are." He paused to let that sink in, but his ire was getting to him and he continued, getting more hysterical as he went, "Some rich fuck will probably think you'll want to get rid of us for some easy money, try to pay you cheap, thinking you're poor, for their new 'guard dog'," he pointed at Gamzee, "and stick me in some tank for display so he can show off to all his friends!"

The other purple, surprised at this outburst, put a heavy hand on the freaking out sea dweller's shoulder to keep him from blathering on with more horrible things. "It ain't that bad, bro. Tav won't let that happen any old ways. Chill, no need to worry about any of that!" he pulled him in for a half hug, Eridan a little stiff at the unexpected affection, but quiet, shrinking into himself.

"Sorry, Alice," he muttered weakly after a few moments.

2014-07-31 21:51:06
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"Oh, here we go. Let's play the pity party all over again. Like I can change the fact that I'm just a shimmy away from being classified as a midblood," Frankly, it was insulting. Just because Vriska didn't experience /all/ the harshness that was attributed to violetbloods of any kind didn't mean she was completely immune to discrimination of any kind. In some cases, she was resented more, just because she was in a strange spot, stuck between not being quite a lowblood but not being quite a midblood, either, "I find no happiness or pleasure in it, like that wasn't obvious."

As understanding as always, Tavros watched Eridan with furrowed brows and thoughtful eyes, then stood up and brushed crumbs from his dress as Gamzee calmed him down. The apology was met with a dismissive hand gesture, "Don't apologize. I understand that, the continued persecution and overall, degradation is not a very healthy foundation for calm demeanor." He smiled reassuringly, "I know that there is not much I can do, um. Right now, at least. But I am making a promise to everyone that, as Alice, I will do my absolute best to try to equalize everything."

"Anyway," He continued, before anyone had time to really comment about his words, "We should get going, yeah? Lots of daylight to burn."

2014-07-31 22:30:09
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Gamzee smiled up at him. He made sure the fire was out before getting up, helping the Hare a bit as he didn't seem up to moving right away, coming down from his fit like before at the tea party table. He helped him along gently, trying to be comforting as they all got ready to go. When it seemed the other was doing alright again, he stood beside Tavros, ready to hike across the fields through the day.

Eridan did actually mutter a small apology to Vriska as he picked up his things, leaving her side quickly to fall in line with the other two so they could get going. He'd calmed a bit and was kicking himself for probably pissing her off again, after such a good morning. He wished he were less of a basket case, but he had no idea what to expect from a land dweller city besides what he'd heard from history, which wasn't anything good.

2014-07-31 22:47:37
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She just shot him a look that said 'don't let it happen again,' then made her place on the other side of Tavros. The Alice seemed to be in a good enough mood, walking ever so slightly in front of everyone else as they followed the path straight through the In-Between. The Jabberwocky flew overhead every once in a while, but mostly left them alone, as it knew that once the quartet reached the boundary of the In-Between and Undlegire, it would not be able to trek much further.

Vriska, as bored as she seemed, was actually giving quick glances to Tavros, who was quite a bit shorter than her. He was such a delicate, sweet little thing, and she worried that crude midbloods would think of him in a much nastier light, perhaps even try peeking up his skirt. The world certainly seemed windy today, and a particular breeze could mean the difference between civil walking and green blood on her knuckles. Or, she guessed, Gamzee's.

"Let's play a game," Tavros started, familiar words coming from him, "It is a game that Gamzee and I played, uh, back in this other city."

2014-07-31 23:02:51
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Gamzee had been just about to start that game when Tavros mentioned it, so he grinned happily when Tavros mentioned it. He thought long and hard about how he might start the story, and started explaining it while he thought. "We tell a story, finishing a sentence and then starting a new one, ending it in the middle so the next person all up and finishes it."

He paused to think, then figured he'd better let Tavros start off with it, as he was too excited to really think of anything good, and felt like making a concerted effort to make this game more interesting, now that he knew how to play and was more comfortable.

Eridan perked up a little. A game sounded nice, and the tallest among them seemed quite excited about it, by the additional bounce in his step as he explained the game to them. It sounded easy enough. He'd try to keep it light hearted.

2014-07-31 23:14:43
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The game sounded like something only wrigglers would play, but Tavros looked reasonably excited, and Eridan seemed to be warming up to the idea, so Vriska was socially forced to participate.

"I will start," Tavros declared, "And then we can just go in whatever order we feel like and stick to it, hehe. Okay, umm..." He tapped his chin, thinking of something to begin before he clapped his hands in delight, "Once upon a time, there was a gigantic palace in the sky. In that castle there was..."

Vriska, not quite thinking of anything or having anything come to mind, looked expectantly to the other two males.

2014-07-31 23:24:35
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Gazing up at the sky, Gamzee thought. "In that castle there was... a dragon," the Jabberwocky had flown over head so he decided to include something similar. "But this dragon was lonely up in the sky by hisself, so..." Gamzee glanced to Eridan, giving him a gentle nudge.

Eridan thought a moment. "But the dragon was lonely up in the sky by himself, so he swooped down from his cloud palace to search for a friend. He searched and searched, and...." he left off for Vriska to continue.

2014-07-31 23:35:36
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"He searched and searched but didn't find anyone," Vriska continued without missing a beat, trying to maintain a delicate groomed reputation that she was prepared for anything, "That is, until he went down to the planet and saw..."

"That is, until he went down to the planet and saw a barkbeast!" Tavros exclaimed, beaming a smile up at Gamzee, who he knew would remember the similarity to their first time playing the game, "The barkbeast really just wanted, uh, to play..."

2014-07-31 23:39:49
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Gamzee did remember, and, grinning, continued the story on a similar way to their first. "The barkbeast really just wanted to play tag, so barked the dragon down to play with him and his friend the lion. But the dragon..." He nudged Tavros playfully as Eridan continued.

"But the dragon was a little afraid to play with such small creatures. He landed anyway, deciding..." this was a pretty fun game, Eridan decided. Certainly a distracting way to pass the time.

2014-07-31 23:47:20
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"He landed anyway, deciding that he needed a bigger friend to include as well like a raptor." Vriska could clearly see their little story unfurl in her mind's eye, "However, the only raptor nearby was..."

"The only raptor nearby was very shy and the barkbeast thought an introduction was in order." Tavros nodded as if it was a fact of the world, "Though, the barkbeast was..."

2014-08-01 04:01:05
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"Though, the barkbeast was the smallest of all the animals, he was very brave and went up to introduce himself. The lion..." This story was damn interesting. These critters were sure getting up to some stuff! It was so vivid, Gamzee could imagine it was a story from a book at the library.

Eridan continued, wondering what Vriska would make happen next. "The lion was worried about his friend, so followed him. He approached slowly but..."

2014-08-01 04:10:39
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The story continued on far into the day, but Tavros soon wished to stop again and a temporary camp was set up. It was lunch time, he decided, but he had also found a small patch of whitened flowers and wanted to investigate. Vriska, happy for the break, set down her pack and stretched her arms over her head, "Good grief. You'd think the In-Between was all of Wonderland with how huge it is."

Tavros twirled around in the grass, laughing as he saw the Jabberwocky, a little ways off, copying his motions, "Yes, definitely, but I think that, perhaps, our sweet darling Wocky will take us the remainder of the way?" The Jabberwocky, accustomed to its name, lumbered over much one an excitable puppy, its scaled tail swaying.

2014-08-01 18:32:54
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Gamzee wandered with Tavros, having handed out some small things for lunch to the other two. Dark bread, cheese, and some fruit; not stellar but what were they really going to eat while traveling? He didn't feel like it was necessary to have a fire for every meal they ate. He smiled at Wocky, kind of fond of the strange creature and how friendly it turned out to be, and handed Tavros some food, too.

Eridan lounged in the grass, eating lazily and watching the others interact. Even though he'd been reassured that the city wasn't going to be as bad as he potentially feared it could be, the Hare was not looking forward to running in to other people. He couldn't just stab them and make them go away if they bothered him; which made him nervous, not knowing if he could handle much negativity without another outburst.

2014-08-01 18:54:00
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Thanking him kindly, Tavros nibbled on the items, though he did split some fruit with the Jabberwocky, who was more than happy to savor the tiny bit of food given to it. He pet its snout, watching as the creature curled up and made warbling sounds against Tavros's palm. Tavros finished his food shortly and beamed up at Gamzee, "How do you feel about, riding Wocky towards Undlegire?"

Vriska took to counting the treasure she took with her while she ate. 100 gold coins, 50 silver, 25 bronze, the standard amount she kept on her person at any time. While she was not quite a mid blood, her pirating exploits garnered much more money than she was willing to let on. She guessed that if they needed an inn or something, she could give Tavros the money to take care of the transaction. She couldn't be seen paying for anything, in any case. Vriska placed the money back into the decorative pouch she kept it in on her thick belt, then peered over at Eridan, "How much money did you take with you?"

2014-08-01 20:33:23
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Seeing Tavros feed the strangely adorable creature he dug in his bag, giving the other troll a little peck to his forehead for his sweetness. "Here, Tav, I've got something for him... Wockybro, you want an apple?" he held it out to the Jabberwocky, resting it in his palm between him and Tavros, giving the large animal some affectionate scratches under its chin.

"...I suppose it wouldn't be too bad, if our friend here was all up and willing to transport us over."

If the other purple blood had seen the amount of money Vriska was carrying his eyes would have been as big as dinner plates, and he probably would have been terrified out of his mind. The most he'd ever seen close up were Tavros's old coins and the single gold he'd accidentally been paid with. The sea dwelling violet was used to her hoard though, and didn't think the coinage was all that interesting compared to her other more elaborate treasures. "Not as much as you, shouldn't be seen with anything totaling more than one gold, I shouldn't think... but I brought enough for food and such necessities."

2014-08-01 20:49:41
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The Jabberwocky's eyes seemed to light up at the apple, and its tongue lapped up the fruit, snapping and chewing it whole. Little dribbles of apple mixed with saliva leaked from its mouth, and Tavros giggled, "So messy!" Once the Jabberwocky finished, it curled up on the ground and rolled onto its back, and Tavros, understanding the hint, scratched at its stomach with a laugh. "What do you say, Wocky, hm? Can you take us to the end of, the In-Between?"

The creature considered it, but looked none too happy to make the time they had together any shorter. Tavros laid his cheek against the surprisingly soft underbelly of the animal, petting it gently, "Awh, I know. You do not want us to leave, uh, any time soon, but I promise that someone will come back to see you, once this is all over. So, how about it? Will you take us?" Jabberwocky considered it some more before rolling onto its side and licking Tavros's sweatered arm in agreement. With a grin, he kissed its snout, then Gamzee's cheek, "Isn't this great?"

"I won't, I won't," She dismissed, "I'll give it to Alice to hold since I'd probably be jailed for having just a gold piece. It would be best if we avoid any type of trouble." Vriska pulled her hat off, then shuffled a hand through her hair, "I am soooooooo not looking forward to traipsing through the city."

2014-08-01 21:13:23
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Eridan huffed in agreement. "Me neither. ...What will it be like?" he asked her. He didn't remember ever having been to a land dweller city, at least not when he was old enough to remember them clearly. He wasn't looking forward to not being able to defend himself and be kind of an asshole to people when he didn't like them. He knew he'd really have to keep his cool...lest be thrown in jail and never see open water again.

The tall purple blood pet the creature as well, spoiling it a little for agreeing to take them. "...well, I never flied before, I dunno if I'll like it. Promise you won't drop me?" he asked the puppy-like creature with a smile. "Also you know I'm gonna come back at least, gotta show you the forest and everything, remember? Don't gotta be worried about being alone no more."

2014-08-01 21:31:07
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Vriska huffed childishly, "Probably horrible! All those midbloods will, of course, not be able to keep there eyes and comments to themselves." She was getting angry just thinking about it, "And red country? Ha! I'd never be able to restrain my own retorts. Or my fists." She knew that they would get more looks the more time would go on, and people would never be able to keep their comments to themselves. A sea dweller, a pirate, a violentblood and a dressy copperblood all traveling together was not going to go over well.

The Jabberwocky, thankful for Gamzee's kindness, licked him repeatedly before clambering up at a mental command of Tavros's. "I cannot wait to go to Undlegire!" He exclaimed, zipping through the grasses as the Jabberwocky, excitedly, plucked Gamzee's shirt between its sharp teeth and followed after Tavros, who crouched down by the sparse flowers he had found interest in. He pressed his fingertips to the smooth petals, and they soon filled in with a rich, yellow hue. "Wow...!"

2014-08-01 21:40:08
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Eridan shouldn't have asked, she wasn't helping his nerves any. "Maybe we shouldn't go in the city...just go around and let Alice take care of things. If we can't be ourselves... I don't know what they'll do... I don't want to die, Vriska." His tone was terribly serious, dour in fact. Sure, the other purple had said they outlawed the killings, but that was pretty much when no one was seeing them anymore...two in one place, and one from the sea? He thought it might be too much for the random citizenry. He didn't know how much things had cooled; that hatreds weren't so fiery anymore with the passing of time. Certainly traveling with a high blood and in a group was pretty safe now, but he wasn't aware of that.

Luckily Gamzee was tall enough to walk with the Jabberwocky as it dragged him along by his shirt, petting the creature's head and laughing at its antics as he walked. "Damn pretty there, Tavbro..." Tavros was definitely the only one excited to go to Undlegire. The dark purple troll had had enough of cities to last him a while, but he guessed he'd survive like he always did, thinking maybe it wouldn't be so bad with less high bloods and more mid bloods.

2014-08-01 21:56:05