Cherubplay

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Vriska commented offhandedly, "These Rialans sure know how to take care of their city," While the city itself was a tad smaller than Undlegire in terms of population, there was more space between buildings and the section for the docks. People roamed freely, violet and blue blooded children played by their sandstone houses in the middle of the city. It was organized with the homes in the center and stores and other buildings on the outer edges, then the forest, which Tavros found delightfully different as the forest seemed to open up at the train station.

The train slowed to a stop, and the attendants assisted the group with their bags. Once in the train station, located just past the forest, Tavros marveled at the smell of the sea, the people that paid little mind to his blood. The Rialans were the outcasts, and they understood firsthand the pains of judgement.

Vriska, excitably, inclined her head to a pocket of seadwellers by a vendor, amazed to see sea trolls that were not the few she was used to, "Why don't you look at that, Marchie."

Sollux felt more uncomfortable than he wanted to let on - he liked the atmosphere but it would take a while for him to get used to it, even if Kanaya rubbed his back and listened to Tavros's directions on how to get to their hotel.

"We will probably have to ask someone," He mused, "The directions are a little vague."

2014-10-08 11:47:51
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Their seadweller was almost glowing with excitement. This place was perfect; it had a nice structure, clean water, docks, other seadwellers on land... "Hattie...we have to get to know the ins and outs of this place," he murmured to the cerulean troll, "because so far it's wonderful. What do you think? Might make a good home if we like everything else about it."

The mutant troll was being overwhelmed. There was so much to look at, and new smells, and other trolls that didn't give a shit about their blood... For being the first city to have been in outside Starnette, and outside in the open air, it was not disappointing. He had an urge to just wander all around and see everything. Not even to bother speaking, just looking at all the wonders of the outdoors. Karkat stuck close to the group for now though, in between Sollux and Gamzee, just gazing at everything with a look of wonder as he sucked in the city sights like a sponge.

Gamzee was also looking around, looking mostly at the forest before looking around the rest of the town. The set up was interesting... he wondered if that was to keep unsympathetic visitors away from their homes, or if they had just built them first. He was thinking defensively still, since there wasn't a wall they'd keep themselves safer somehow, he thought. Their purple felt strangely distanced, though; how he perceived cities was so deeply ingrained that the concept of potentially belonging felt extremely foreign.

"If you need directions somewhere, I can take you." The voice came from a small, elderly troll with very dark green eyes and wavy gray hair who walked up the short steps toward them from town. She was a few inches shorter than Tavros, but seemed somehow petite and solid at the same time, though the second was probably from her broad horns waving back around her head.

Gamzee looked completely flabbergasted at her appearance.

2014-10-08 17:31:16
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Kanaya was having a bit of an artistic overload - the fashion was so simple, but elegant in its own right, much like something she could see herself wearing. The colors were mostly greens and blues and purples, but in various hues and shades paired with white, and Kanaya made plenty of mental notes so she could replicate those gorgeous threads at some time.

"Most definitely," Vriska agreed, but she was mildly skeptical, "I'd give it a couple days, though, just in case. I do not want to get so swept up in the first impression that I forget everything else." Though, it was hard not to. The architecture of the city was gentle but solid, the people kept to themselves instead of being the extremes: incredibly rude or incredibly supportive. He liked that some people wanted to show their support, but it would be better to be left alone when it came down to it.

Tavros perked up when he noticed someone approach him, and the old woman, broad-horned and green-blooded, looked friendly enough.

"Oh, yes, that would be wonderful, thank you!" He smiled brightly, showing her the paper, "This address, here."

The architect was experiencing further shock by being around so many other people that were not pompous highbloods, and he took hold of Kanaya's hand, squeezing it gently. Kanaya smiled at him and murmured a few soothing words, hoping the culture shock would not be too much for the poor yellowblood.

2014-10-08 19:21:34
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She squinted at the paper. "I'm afraid my eyes aren't quite what they used to be with the small details... Oh, yes, this isn't too far from my shop. My, there are a lot of you...you aren't the Alice group by any chance?" She didn't look so much curious as concerned, gazing among them with her bad eyes and patting around her bosom. "I suppose I've forgotten my spectacles, curses..." Her accent was slight, more like Borina's with something looser in the tone, reminiscent of their landdwelling purple's speech.

Gamzee was actually in a sort of state of pensive anxiety. Though it had nothing to do with there just being another troll here, and more to do with how she looked and sounded.

Karkat saw the odd behavior and expected it wasn't just from the sudden appearance, so spoke up, as Eridan was still thoroughly distracted by the landscape. "Yea, that's us... are you from the government come to get us?" Personally he thought it might be a little odd to have a green in a governing body when there were mostly blues and lower in Rial, but who knew?

"Oh, no, I was on an individual sort of mission... we haven't heard much about each of you here, but they did mention where you were all from and, well... maybe I'm just a foolish old woman, but I thought my grandson might be among you....Tulgey City is such a large place though, it was a bit silly to presume." She sighed heavily, and started leading them to the hotel. The old troll rambled on as she walked, "it's a nice old place, they've done it up quite handsomely. Warm and airy, just perfectly matches the scenery, you see."

2014-10-08 20:27:03
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Of course, Tavros had not thought of anything strange or remarkable until she mentioned Tulgey City and his eyes widened slightly. Had not Gamzee mentioned a greenblooded lusus...?

Though, he did not think that this woman was his guardian since she had said 'grandson' but he was curious to know what her memories were like and if she truly were the correct person. "Most definitely," He smiled, following along with her with an obvious pep in his step. "Did you like Tulgey City at all? I was only there, uh, briefly."

Kanaya, noting Gamzee's stiffness, wrestled her hand from Sollux's tight grip to pat him on the back, making a slightly questioning sound. She had not quite made the connection, -and Sollux was on autopilot while Vriska ooh-ed and aw-ed at the scenery- so she thought it was a little bizarre that he looked so out of it.

2014-10-08 22:23:34
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"Oh, I've never been there, myself. The only way I know about it is they sent me a letter that that's where my daughter passed, and I wondered if her boy still lived there! Of course we lost touch since they had to run to keep the boy safe... he was only a little thing too... and I had to stay behind to look after her matesprit, they really did a number on the fellow. Of course he's passed, too. But by that time it had been so many sweeps I didn't think I'd be able to find him if I went. They couldn't be easy to find, now could they, since they had to stay secret. There weren't safe havens like this for purples at that time, after all." The old troll spoke sadly, stopping suddenly in front of an interesting shop, which she unlocked and stepped into. "Just a moment, dearies, I'd like to get my glasses and get a look at you."

She left them on the street while she looked for the spectacles. The shop was called the Sphinx, and had a picture of the creature that Gamzee was looking at with wide eyes. "That's what Ma always made in the snow!" Otherwise there looked to be a lot of books inside, set up neatly, and a primarily unused counter with some coffee machines. There were some stairs to the side that lead up to the roof that had been set up as an open air cafe, with some infrastructure to hang curtains or tarps on in bad weather.

2014-10-08 22:40:44
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"Alright," Tavros hummed, then looked to Gamzee when he stared widely at the Sphinx sign. He kissed his shoulder, trying hard to keep his excitement down. "If you are struck by these thoughts, love, I think it would do well to tell her," He grinned, hugging him tightly once he readjusted his pack on his back, "For the both of you, yes?"

It was a reunion of sorts sweeps in the making. While Gamzee's mother may have already passed, it would still be spectacular for him to meet with part of his family. It was a luxury that Tavros certainly did not have, that much was sure.

2014-10-08 23:14:56
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"I'm so excited, Tavros." Gamzee beamed at him. "She looks almost just like Ma, that's why I got so startled at first..." Through the window they could see that the troll woman had found her glasses and set them on her face. She blinked owlishly, catching sight of Gamzee, and picked up a picture frame from her desk, glancing between the two before rushing outside with it clutched in her hand.

"Gamzee? Is that you, bubele?" she used some sweet term as she reached up to touch his cheek as he nodded, smiling and half not believing it.

"Gran'ma Carala?" he asked, and of course she nodded too, grinning happily with tears of joy before hugging him tightly around the waist, burying her face in his chest which was all the taller she really was. He hugged her back, of course, tiny purple tears at the corners of smiling eyes. Muffling her laughter as she hugged him tightly, soon she pulled back a little ways to look at him.

"You look just like the both of them. See here..." showing him and Tavros the picture frame, there were four trolls in the still. She was the shortest adult, almost ten sweeps younger in the picture. The adult immediately to her side looked nearly identical besides for age and some small details, especially her perfect fluffy ringlets. In her arms this troll held a wriggler, not more than a sweep old at the time, with curls like his mother but much crazier, like the tallest troll in the picture, who stood behind the two dark green women. This last adult was obviously even taller than Gamzee, with wild locks and purple eyes matching his hue. They were all so happy. "You've grown an awful lot since this was taken," she beamed.

2014-10-08 23:36:10
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The remaining members of their party flocked around the photo, some recognition flicking across their expressions. Tavros fawned over the photo more than he thought he would have - everyone looked so gleeful and content, and Tavros wondered if he ever made Gamzee feel that way.

The reunion, touching and heartwarming, made Kanaya grin in happiness, "This is astounding! To think, after all this time, Gamzee would finally reunite with a family member." The Fates or the Twelve floating about someplace had really outdone themselves this time.

"D'you suppose we ought to introduce ourselves?" The pirate captain questioned somewhat suddenly, figuring that they should continue in the logical path of things, "Ma'am, do they disclose that kind of information when they said the 'Alice group' is coming or are we just one singular entity?"

2014-10-09 00:55:35
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"Oh, yes, introductions would be nice. They really haven't told us much, just that there's almost the whole spectrum of folk in your little group, headed by a brownblood from another world. Other than that we've got some place names, but nothing much reliable," she scoffed, "what do us lowbloods need to know about such worldly affairs, after all? Rialan government hardly knows who you all are, and everything needs filtering, usually, from all the propaganda in other cities. You'd think it'd kill them to write just facts." It was pretty obvious she forgot about her midblooded color she'd been here so long.

Excitable from the reunion, Gamzee introduced them all, probably the most talking he'd ever done in a single stint, if not breath alone. He gave their names and where they were from. His grandmother then introduced herself. "My name is Carala Corvus, and I live in Rial, after living in a number of places. It's so nice to meet you all, oh, and please don't feel the need to bother with formalities dears, Carala is fine."

2014-10-09 01:16:51
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Vriska laughed, starting to like this woman already, "Tell me about it! Is it so difficult to just give the truth about what we have done so far? It is almost incredible what they go through to make us all look so horrible."

Tavros smiled sheepishly as they began to walk, salty breezes rustling his hair about the ribbon he wore habitually, "I am not sure I could call you anything besides Ms. Corvus," He admitted, "I think the most casual I could muster is, uh, Ms. Carala, maybe."

"Lighten up a tad, Tavros," Sollux shook his head somewhat, having no problem with talking to Carala on friendly terms, "Say, Carala, what other places have you been to?"

2014-10-09 01:24:47
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The old woman giggled at Tavros, glancing out of the corner of her eye with a hint of mischief. "Oh, it's different for you, sweetie. If you're my dear grandson's matesprit then you might have to start calling me Granma as well!" She actually cackled at that, a joyous laugh but still quite witchy as she teased lightly.

"And I've been to a fair number of places, Sollux. As you might be able to guess I started off in the West, but my family moved when I was very young. And from there we traveled a number of the southern islands, and along the coasts. Being so generally nomadic I suppose it makes sense we fell in with the purples. After my dear daughter took up with her mate, we traveled with their clan for a time before branching off. Island hopping was always my favorite, though. Just travelling the waves wit nary a care in the world and seeing what different places there were. Though the coastlines are always nice, and I did love the mountains... oh, the forests out there are to die for." While she rambled she'd led them to where they'd be staying, stopping in front of it.

2014-10-09 01:40:57
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"The waves? Fuck yes, the waves!" A glint of excitement entered Vriska's voice, abruptly interested, "The currents just push and pull you where the water intends for you to be, it is most satisfying to simply let the wind in your sails create your destination."

At the hotel, Tavros peered up at it, trying to ignore how his cheeks heated some. The hotel was made more of wood than the sandstone, the windows tall and thick to keep out the sand. The receptionist, flipping through a magazine, perked up as the door opened and greeted them with a smile, "Oh, hello! You all must be the Alice group," He reached behind him, holding out three keys, "Here are your rooms. Room service will be up in half an hour, and the hotel has breakfast from six to ten." The purple bit back small giggles when Tavros looked a bit overwhelmed, "Do you all need anything in particular? Salt water for Mr. Ampora, perhaps blood for Ms. Maryam?"

2014-10-09 01:53:52
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The two violets and one mutant were gaping at this troll, who dared to be forward thinking and actually kind. Eridan was the first to recover though, leaving the other two to look like beached fish. "Oh, no thank you, I think I'll just go for a dip later on. Your waters around here look so pristine, I cannot resist."

"Am I still in Wonderland?" Karkat asked the air.

"I don't fuckin' know," Gamzee replied. "Maybe that was a miracle train... or we're all dreamin'."

"That honestly seems the most likely answer here," Karkat murmured.

"Oh don't be so cynical, Karkat. You remind me of my daughter. She was always terribly negative," Carala said, patting the mutant on the arm lightly. "Though I suppose I can understand why you might be surprised. But really dears, we're all equal here."

2014-10-09 02:39:33
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He laughed a bit, giving a gesture to the left towards the elevator, "Bound off, then. Have a lovely stay in Rial!"

"I. Um. Thank you." Tavros took the keys and distributed them accordingly, making his way towards the elevator, wooden and smelling sweetly from the flower arrangements hanging above them on the ceiling. Tavros was not ecstatic to take another elevator for any reason, but the keys, engraved with threes, spoke otherwise. He pressed the button, glancing up as Kanaya spoke.

"It is absolutely fantastic here. I love Undlegire but Rial is so pleasantly different!" She beamed, "The people here are just so sweet, like little sugar cubes, they are."

2014-10-09 02:58:30
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After having gotten Gamzee's assurances to stop by later, Carala had departed from them in the lobby, leaving them to settle in. The purple blood had been equally disinterested in the elevator, and stuck close by Tavros, holding his hand on the way up. "They are real nice," he murmured, kind of dreamy and out of it. It was overwhelming to have all this happening at once.

"I hope we get to stay here a while, it really is quite pleasant," Eridan agreed. "I cannot wait to go for a swim...I'm tempted to skip dinner and just hunt for the evening, honestly." Oh yes, some fresh crab or a good merlin sounded nice. He wondered if the seadwellers around here traded with the Rialans. He'd have to find out.

2014-10-09 03:08:20
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He, too, was kind of operating on autopilot at the moment - it was difficult to pay too much attention to everything with how incredibly different Rial was.

Their rooms were warm, comfortable places; the beds held giant white pillows and heavy down comforters, the window in the room wide and opened. It did not have a curtain but white, wooden blinds, and Tavros took a few moments to fiddle with it before he pulled off his pack and set it on the floor.

He laid on his bed, inwardly glad that the room had separate beds, as he did enjoy his own space. "This is surreal," He breathed, "This is Paradise. Surely there is some kind of stipulation?" Tavros laughed airily, "I love it here!"

2014-10-09 03:21:12
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Gamzee sprawled on the second bed after taking his pack off, staring up at the ceiling but not really seeing it. He had to let himself internalize all that had happened, it was so out of the ordinary. Getting up suddenly, he sat on the edge of Tavros's bed for a moment before leaning forward and kissing him tenderly. Pulling away he settled back on his own bed, looking up at the ceiling again.

"This is the nicest damn place I've ever been. Fuckin' hell," he commented after a short while. "I don't think I wanna ever leave. This place is made of fuckin miracles. My... /my grandmother/," he pronounced, giggling to himself, "says she wants us all to have dinner at her place sometime while we're in town." The purple kind of laughed lightly, rubbing at his eyes again. It was so overwhelming!

2014-10-09 03:35:40
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He smiled tiredly, starting to come down from all his excitement. Tavros purred at the kiss, having sank against the pillows and the comforter of his bed before perking up some at Gamzee's talking.

"I am fond of it here, as well," He agreed, rolling onto his back and stretching comfortably, "It would be lovely to live here. If, say, Eridan and Vriska lived here rather than in the Screechlands, Kanaya still wanted to live in Undlegire, uh, and Sollux still wished to stay in Starnette, then we would all still be relatively close to each other. I am sure that Karkat would want to stick by us, if he could help it," Tavros was, honestly, looking forward to their lives after all the hectic problems were solved or close to it, "Ms. Corvus is a sweet lady, and I think dinner tonight with her, uh, will be absolutely wonderful."

2014-10-10 01:31:45
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It took him a little while to react, as he was really getting emotional. "That would be nice. Could just visit on the fuckin' train every so often, and they could come down to see us and have dinner or whatever..."

His voice was only barely even; as much as he could manage. He felt much too emotional, and it only made him feel more distraught. Gamzee felt like he was supposed to be strong, and not show much emotion, lest it give him away or give other trolls the right to cull him through their system. But everything was so nice here! They didn't care that he was purple, or that he had a highblood mateprit, or any of that. He hadn't heard one insult or been threatened the whole time they'd been in town, and now he had a living relative? It was all too much, but he couldn't let Tavros see his tears; he felt he had to be strong for them both in some capacity. He excused himself to the bathroom, making some excuse before closing the door and sitting against it.

2014-10-10 05:58:06
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Noticing him leaving somewhat suddenly, he sat up slowly, calling, "Gamzee?"

Tavros had noted the shift in his tone, the crack in his voice. This, however, put him in an awkward spot. If he asked him what was wrong, was that pale or red? Deciding that it would be best to simply through caution to the wind and approach Gamzee outside the bathroom, Tavros shuffled over just outside the door and questioned again, "Love?"

"Are you alright?" Obviously not, but he could not think of what else to ask and mentally chastised himself for being so dense, "Uh, rather. Are you going to be alright?"

2014-10-10 11:04:54
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The purple blood was equally unsure with what would be pale or red in this context, but wasn't sure he cared. Instead he was wrestling with his comfort in letting Tavros see him that way. So he evened out is breathing, wiping the streams of tears away though more replaced them quickly and made it a losing battle.

"Yeah, I'll be alright," he called, still choked up. Well, fuck it then, he reasoned. Tavros knew exactly what he was doing in here and it was probably only weird and worrying that he'd locked himself away. So Gamzee cracked the door open, scooting across the floor a small way to give more room. Looking up at Tavros, still somewhat avoidant as he scrubbed uselessly at tear tracts and sat on the floor, he tried reassuring him. "Just really fuckin' emotional right now."

2014-10-10 12:08:10
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Sliding down to his knees, Tavros raised a hand instinctively but dropped it, uncertainty wrenching his heart. He did not want to display any paleness if in the case Gamzee wanted to branch out to Karkat, which he fully supported. But, on the other hand, Tavros could not stand to see his matesprit crying like this, even if it wasn't entirely for a bad reason.

Now that he thought about it, this was the first time he had ever seen Gamzee cry. An amazing first in his eyes, as Tavros had cried more times than he could keep count of. "Yeah," He ventured somewhat helplessly, "But that is okay! You do not have to be strong all the time," The brownblood leaned against the doorframe, "Especially here, with me."

2014-10-10 12:33:07
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Nodding, Gamzee gave up on wiping his face dry. Instead he scooted toward Tavros, hating the tension so breaking it by resting his head comfortably, after negotiating their horns, on his matesprit's shoulder. He settled into a comfortable position nuzzling the brownblood's shoulder as he quietly let tears fall. It was mostly normal except for the occasional shaking of his shoulders with a harder bout.

It only took a few minutes of relaxing this way for him to get the emotion out and start settling down again. Gamzee didn't move from Tavros's shoulder, though, staying to calm down and breathe evenly. "...thanks, Tav," he murmured after a while. "Love you."

2014-10-10 12:59:17
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Looping his arms around his matesprit, Tavros nuzzled his face into his hair, his fingers gently massaging at his scalp with his fingertips. "I love you, too," He murmured, then perked up with an idea bright in his eyes, "Hey, do you want a quick bath before room service arrives? Or, uh, perhaps we can get a few snacks from them and have a grand time in the bath," He smiled sweetly, kissing at his hair and temple, "It may lighten your mood some."

Even if he and Gamzee were not also pale for each other, he did find it was his duty, at that moment, to provide for him emotionally at least somewhat. "For now, I think we should get off the floor, heheh.*

2014-10-10 20:51:45