Cherubplay

🌀
"I dunno, maybe I like having you in the kitchen with me; it's nice to have someone to cook and talk with at the same time. And I always like having you close, Tavbro," Gamzee smiled and gave his matesprit a chaste kiss.

As Karkat's back was turned toward the moirails he couldn't judge Sollux's expression. "I think perhaps Kanaya is getting to me with all her quadrant talk... though I hear she's been getting similar from you for as much reason. Just saying." He started scribbling down information again slower, so he was simultaneously listening to anything either of them said. His face remained mostly neutral, but the words had been to personal feeling not to have been affective.

"Sorry," the seadweller muttered. "But I figured, 'because your my matesprit' was not as good of a reason as either 'you leg looked too empty' or ...the other one." He wasn't going to mention it. He nudged her leg a little but didn't move to prop back up in case she wasn't in the mood. He wondered also if she just hadn't been interested in the first place and if that's why she'd moved at all. Pressuring her was not a thing he was interested in doing.

2014-09-08 23:09:34
●
Returning the kiss happily, Tavros dried off his hands and took Gamzee's in his own, standing on his toes to nuzzle his nose against his adorably, "I like having you around, too," He beamed, "I am not sure what I have done to, uh, deserve your love, but I am grateful for it."

He rolled his eyes, looking over at Kanaya with the exasperation of a seasoned moirail, "C'mon, Kan. You know I like seeing your blush and splutter as much as you like watching me squirm in uncomfortable situations."

Kanaya smiled sweetly, laying her head on his shoulder and batting her eyelashes at him, "But you adore me for it, so what is the problem? You tease me for having some crush on Karkat, (which, for the record, is not true) thus, I tease you in return. Flirting in real time is easier to learn than that rubbish in those books he was given."

"You are so confusing," She shook her head, wondering if they'd be cursed to always misunderstand each other. "I thought we could continue incorporating our usual banter and argumentative natures, but it seems I was mistaken."

2014-09-08 23:49:37
🌀
"I think you were just you; the lovely and amazing Tavros. The real question is how did I get so lucky to meet you, and somehow have you love me too!" he grinned, nuzzling back and purring just a little.

Karkat stayed quiet and kept writing. He was glad those two were fine, no harm done from the awkward exchange. He was trying hard not to feel singled out, as he felt it unreasonable given the current situation. But still, he was the only one sitting alone. Even though he might have adamantly professed a lack of interest or need for any quadrant at the moment, he still felt lonely, though he'd never admit to it. He thought it selfish and shallow even to think on it. He did not think he wanted to learn how to flirt. He'd somehow get invested and nothing would come of it so he'd feel shitty for nothing.

"I guess I'm just used to taking you seriously all the time. I'm sure I'll get used to it." He pouted a little in jest, looking up to her forlornly. "I just wanna cuddle after all and you dumped my head off."

2014-09-09 00:10:06
●
Despite being on hive arrest, Sollux always found something for himself to do. He may have been grumpy and generally rigid, but he had a hardworking nature and kept himself busy with combing through the legislature. He had gone through a sizable chunk after lunch the following day, an entire book and a quarter of another. Kanaya attributed this to his lack of an actual job - he needed something to occupy his time.

Tavros, on the other hand, was trying to translate the coins, but was having a difficult time. The words were already unfamiliar to him, even though he had translated the map, which had taken much longer than he was proud of admitting. Finally, he approached Karkat, much in the same way a student approaches their teacher when they are perplexed by an assignment, "Hey, Karkat? Do you think you can help me, uh, with these coins? They are written in old script, I think."

2014-09-09 21:57:33
🌀
The cherry had been deep in one of the old books and took a while to surface back to reality. "Hmm, wah? Oh..." he looked up at Tavros, then down at the coins, having completely missed what he'd said. Instead of asking what it was he just took one of the coins from Tavros's palm and looked at it. "Sure I can read those; here, I'll have them translated in a moment." He stuck out a hand to receive them, and started writing down what was on the first coin on a fresh sheet of paper.

The pair of purples were also working diligently; Eridan lounging on his stomach, foot kicking at the air lazily as he went through document after document, Gamzee curled up around a mug of tea as he wrote slowly. He was trying to be neat and maintain legibility. Where as he was an excellent reader he hadn't had much call for writing so he wasn't as quick to copy down important points, even though he could read as quickly as Karkat,who had been churning through the books, hardly taking breaks he was so deeply into it.

2014-09-09 22:46:09
●
Engraved in the first coin, with a picture of a fortified city, presumably Starnette, read, front and back, 'Good panic arises from a missing diet...that fattens the rich and starves the poor.' While the second coin continued, 'Remove the sovereign...rust, rain, and regality arises.' The third ended with, 'Two are better than one in government...two with a basis of many.'

Of course, Tavros hadn't been able to decipher any of that. When he had looked over the coins many times before, it seemed similar to what he had gone over with the map, and some things he could pick out, (though those were only letters and nothing substantial) it did not make any sense. The original old script was much more complex than the more widely known second half of old script, which had thinned out in the grammatical difficulty as the poorer, lower class swelled. The map that Tavros had gone through was the somewhat newer old script, which was necessary, otherwise it would have taken much too long for him to figure out and the White Rabbit anticipated this. The coins, however, were of the original old script; the text followed the specific grammar rules and even seemed to be modeled after the aristocratic dialect rather than the common usage. It was profoundly different from the usual language that cropped up later, and it would have been weeks before Tavros got the hang of it.

2014-09-10 01:05:48
🌀
"So, more riddles," Karkat sat back, looking over the written sheet with Tavros. "The last one is obvious..." It was then Karkat suddenly realized he probably shouldn't be talking because of Sollux's bracelet.

"Since you haven't got any good romance novels I'll just have to make one up," he commented to the room. He hoped that was decent code for 'I'm going to write something important down.'

'So, the last one is what we've already been talking about; unfortunately I think it means we'll be going our separate ways at the end,' he wrote. And he had really been looking forward to Gamzee's continued cooking too. He guessed he didn't get to be selfish that way. He sighed, saddened and aggravated by the outcome.

'The second one... well we have to usurp the queen... 'get rid' of her. Probably by killing her ...with the 'rust, rain' sound of things.... the first one though.... Hey, all, what's something that fattens the rich and starves the poor?' He passed this first to Tavros to pass to the others.

2014-09-10 01:24:37
●
Curiously, Tavros looked over what he had written down, finding that his conclusions were a little grim. He, personally, did not want to leave anyone when it was all over, and it did not come across that way when he read the translations.

Vriska, who was seated in a chair closer to the fire, peered at the translations when they came around before scribbling something down on the clipboard and passing it off to everyone else: 'This 'missing diet' is what 'fattens the rich and starves the poor.' It's talking about Parliament - 'diet' is just the old word for it, from the old war days.'

Kanaya got hold of it and questioned, 'Are we killing the Queen /and/ Parliament? That seems excessive for the sake of "good panic." '

2014-09-10 09:48:38
🌀
Eridan handed the board to Gamzee after reading it, not having anything to contribute himself. The other purple did scribble something down in response to Kanaya’s note. ‘I think we have to put them under house arrest… or parliament arrest as it were. Just so long as they’re cut off from everyone else.’

He was almost ready to hand it back, but had another thought. ‘Someone needs to rewrite laws, and take the bad ones out. So they’re probably necessary for that at least. Probably need a lot more people though.’ He handed it back to Eridan, who rather than hand it off after reading wrote something else after that.

‘If there was some connection to the ocean I could get other seadwellers. Otherwise we’ll have to rely on Kanaya’s connections. Hopefully there will just be enough and a way to get them into Starnette.’ He handed it back around with the added notation.

2014-09-10 15:08:42
●
When it came around to him, Tavros questioned, 'How would we put parliament on an arrest of sorts? Surely there are guards and all...perhaps I should present some information to the princess via bird?'

Vriska frowned, writing a response herself, 'I don't really trust her. Just because she says she's gungho for our rebellion doesn't mean she actually is. She may have ulterior motives or is even relaying whatever you've told her to the queen.'

Kanaya read their writings thoughtfully, kind of wishing Sollux had joined them, but he had made a point to stay far away from them to make sure his bracelet couldn't catch a glimpse of anything, even if it was normal. It was an invasion of not just his privacy, but everyone else's. She responded, 'We would have been arrested if the Queen had that type of access. I am going to contact the others and see what I can come up with in terms of followers, but it is very possible that I will have to return to Undlegire for that.'

2014-09-11 23:57:04
🌀
'You should be careful, Kanaya, maybe take one of us with you? We wouldn't want you getting hurt,' Eridan wrote. She couldn't get hurt or everything would be a loss from that end.

'I think the princess is probably alright. She's not cruel or nothin', and not stupid either, she's seen the signs herself. I think that's probably a good idea, Tavros, maybe she knows of some sort of secret way to get inside.' Gamzee was guessing whimsically at this point.

It felt like everything was coming down to the wire here. These were going to be some big steps for all of them, and potentially quite dangerous. The purple blood reminded himself of the Rabbit's words that everyone would live... but that could of course entail massive injuries.

The first thing they would really need was a way inside. Presumably the parliamentary rooms could be locked off from the inside to prevent people getting in. It was ironic that they were the people the government would try to keep out, and that it would end up being used against them if everything worked out. Everything was becoming so daunting and seemingly impossible; he hoped Tavros would be able to cope alright; of course he would help him if he needed reassurance. He was on the look out for signs of undo stress, wanting to prevent as much as possible from the brown blood.

2014-09-12 00:35:18
●
The brown blood, really, was having a case of the 'why me's. He couldn't understand why the White Rabbit would choose him, of all trolls, to be one of the orchestrating members of this entire rebellion. He was not strong or particularly noteworthy in his aspects, he thought, at least. If anything, Tavros thought himself to be too prone to panic and quick to fall into emotions rather than logic, which he supposed was helpful when Karkat came around. Their personalities were quite nearly opposites, and those other ended perspectives would give a more all encompassing view on how to run things. He hoped.

He rubbed at the back of his neck, not having much to contribute as he watched as Kanaya tried to assure that she would be more than fine traversing from one city to the next, but she was keenly unaware of just how deeply the familial bonds ran between them all. She was not the only one that cared, and it always made her flustered to see outward actions of affection, little or small, for the resident hive mother. She wrote, 'I travel to and from Undlegire and Starnette all the time. Once more will not hurt.'

Vriska interjected, 'And all those other times, you didn't have such a humongous weight on your shoulders.'

Kanaya teased, 'If you are so concerned, you come along then, captain! A lesson in self control will be learned for you if things go awry, hm?"

The blueblood hissed in embarrassed retaliation, 'If you get hurt, our only fortified connection to those people will be gone. Anyway, we should do things quickly. Kanaya and whoever else can go off to Undlegire and gather up those people while the remainder of us conjure up some info for the princess. And Chief, you should meet up with the White Rabbit sometime soon for some added assistance. I'm sure he's seen this coming.'

Tavros wrinkled his nose, 'He may just give me more riddles, but I will do my best to contact him through Aradia. I actually think he gives more blatant information to Gamzee. Rarely any of that runabout language he deals to me.'

2014-09-12 00:57:19
🌀
That comment didn't make Gamzee very happy in internal contemplation. Why was that? Did the Rabbit think he was stupid just like everyone else? He sure hoped not. He didn't even know if he was allowed to tell Tavros what he'd been told, though it wasn't much. Was that something the Rabbit was also counting on, the purple's unsureness about telling Tavros about what he was told in case it made one of these doomed timelines? If they did see him again he would ask. 'We can always figure out riddles. It's better than nothing.'

'You know, it might not be bad for Vriska to go with you. She can fight and isn't as... disreputable as the rest of us,' Eridan commented. 'Even though I think we're loathe to be separated from either of you, it's necessary. And she's right. Look what happened to Sollux. You're already a rainbowdrinker, and now you're part of our usurping little organization too; you don't think they'll do worse to you if they feel like it?'

Karkat hadn't much to contribute either. 'I do remember some passages from when I was a child, but that was when I was small; they might be blocked off. Definitely something to ask the princess about. If not there's always the air ducts.' He had meant that as a joke, of course. He figured they were all much to big to fit into them, even the petite Tavros.

2014-09-12 01:12:03
●
Tavros shuffled some, unsure where they could progress from there. They had the riddles mostly figured out: make Parliament rewrite laws and take down the Queen. First off, Kanaya and Vriska would rally troops, so to speak, but there would have to be a place to house those people to begin with. Alice wrote, 'Vriska, Kanaya, when do you two want to leave? And what, exactly, do the remainder of you propose we do in the meantime first? Just send our actions to the princess?'

Vriska hastily wrote, 'Yes, but in a code for safety. Or request a meeting with her and just verbally tell her, whatever would be the safest in terms of keeping information secretive. Ask her about passageways. Spring is right around the corner, meaning the legislative break is soon. We don't have much time.'

2014-09-13 01:51:20
🌀
'We should find another place while they're away, if we can. Kanaya, do you think Borina would talk to me without you there?' Karkat wrote in. They could probably find a spot from her. The princess wouldn't know a place the others could stay; she was too sheltered.

Other than that, there didn't seem much else to discuss. They at least had some plans now. Though in the down times it had been hard not to worry too much, they had all this paper to go through. It was looking less daunting now, though; they had gotten through quite a bit with all of them working on it at once.

Gamzee, for one, had completely lost track of time. He looked up at Tavros and smiled a small smile. Perhaps later during a break he'd pamper him a little. He liked doing nice things for Tavros--it made him feel good. Useful, even, to relieve some of his matesprit's tension.

2014-09-13 02:13:02
●
'Ah, yes, Borina, she is of the friendly type,' Kanaya wrote, 'I am sure if you explained the situation to her, she would be keen on assisting us. She definitely is not happy with the way things are currently run to begin with.'

This, though, worried her. If Karkat was going to see Borina while Kanaya was out, who would go with him? There was safety in numbers, but with Vriska with her, an assassin after Gamzee, Eridan and Tavros, and Sollux on hive arrest, she could not conjure up any way for it to go by safely. She supposed Sollux could call and request going to Borina's shop, but whether or not that was approved was not something readily known. Holding back a sigh, Kanaya looked to the others and gauged that the conversation was, more or less, over. She smiled a bit, but was still concerned, "Well, all," Kanaya continued from Karkat's last words. "Perhaps we should try our hand at creating a romance novel ourselves, huh?" She picked up at her last place in the paperwork, watching as Vriska followed suit and gave the next book to Tavros. There was so much to go through, but the information was vital in terms of governmental procedure and how much the government has changed. The ins and outs of the laws and history were pertinent to their success if they were to create a new government from scratch.

Even though he smiled and laughed, Tavros was still quite serious and tense when it came to 'Alice duties' that seemed to be shared now. He looked to Gamzee and returned the smile weakly, feeling mildly stressed out already.

2014-09-13 13:20:01
🌀
Gamzee gestured that. Tavros should sit down by him if he wanted before getting back to work. Even proximity might be a little relieving. The sooner they had some breathing room, the better; the indigo was concerned about his matesprit making himself ill with worry. Of course he would take care of him if that happened, but he figured it would be better if it didn't. Being sick was no fun.

The mutant had no idea how he was going to get to Borina's without a hassle. He could always hope one individual wouldn't attract as much attention as a group. Otherwise he might just have to be sneakier about it, or deal with the consequences of running into guards.He took a nose dive. straight back into the old texts for now, content to wait until he needed to to plan that event.

2014-09-13 16:45:52
●
Frankly, all the political talk was making her weary. There seemed to be only two prominent views within Starnette: pro-Alice and anti-Alice. The name 'Alice' had become more of a term and not a title. It was used to refer to the entire team, a whole movement. Borina, having been seated in the break room of sorts behind the curtain of beads, thumbed through a catalogue mailed to her from a major magic item supplier. Only the more heinous or criminally affiliated would need most of those items, but they were not exactly illegal themselves. She'd probably consult Kanaya at some point and see what her point of view was.

She heard the door open and, not wanting to give off the vibe of a bad or disrespectful owner, quickly left the back room and through the beaded curtain, offering a smile, "Yes, yes, hello." Borina greeted, ornamented and dressed somewhat lavishly as always. Her long hair, bone straight and glossy, was pushed back with a red hair band that matched the crimson details of her robe-like clothing. She was barefoot, toes and ankles decorated with thin gold bands similar to the jewelry in her ears and on her wrists. "Ah, you are Kanaya's friend, hm? What can I get you today?"

2014-09-13 19:57:54
🌀
Ah, he made it, thank goodness. Karkat looked around the shop to make sure no one else was around before approaching Borina at the counter. He was dressed in the more casual clothes Kanaya had made him, the heavy coat wrapped tightly around himself. He suspected the hood that hid his horns helped him blend in, as well as only being a single individual and keeping his head down.

"Actually, I've come more to talk than to acquire anything in particular. I hope it's not an inconvenience to you. Kanaya would have come, too, but she's away on other business elsewhere. ...is there somewhere a little less conspicuous?" he asked quietly. He hoped she wouldn't take him as being too forward; he still wasn't too good at social interactions. And though he had made it without a scratch, it had been nerve-wracking to walk through the city by himself. He suspected this made his tone a little short, even if he didn't mean it that way.

2014-09-13 20:08:30
●
"To talk?" She parroted, "On the basis of what business?" Borina hadn't much against Karkat, and if he was friends with Kanaya, he must have been trustworthy to some extent, but she could not be too careful. It was not that she felt as though she were in danger of anything, but she did not feel that she should simply trust Karkat straight out.

Her mind traveled to Kanaya, wondering what her friend could be up to. She was not so stupid as to cast a blind eye to the goings on around her; Kanaya only came to Starnette on weekends, and she has visited on weekdays and gotten involved in something bigger than herself, surely. She could only hope that nothing happened to her while she was away on whatever 'business' it was she attended to. Was she fleeing for safety? There were so many questions in Borina's mind that she wished she had answers to.

2014-09-13 20:20:23
🌀
"Well," he pauses, somewhat uncomfortable. He understood her reticence. He wouldn't want to get close to the Alice group either if he had a business and livelihood on the line. Even though he probably still would have gotten involved, as interested in fixing the corruptipn he could as he was even before the quest. "You know what we're involved in...and you seem less than content with the system yourself, so we were wondering if you might be able to help us in some small way. Of course we don't want to endanger you any, so if you're not comfortable with that, I can leave, no problem." He didn't want to say anymore if she wasn't interested. It would be no good for another person outside their group to be informed of their plans if they had no intention of helping.

2014-09-13 20:33:31
●
This had to have been something underhanded. She did not want to believe that the Alice rebels were as sneaky and evil as some of her customers were led on to believe, especially if Kanaya was involved, but trying to get her involved was nerve wracking. She nearly outright refused.

But she thought of those back in the West, how far behind they now were because of the smoke sweeps. Not even the high bloods out there had much in ways of education, and they were likely just surviving and having minimal contact with humans and the government if at all possible. It was saddening to think of the young trolls that would know only the toils of work and never taste knowledge; they would prosper with callouses on their hands but never see the ink and paper of a book. Surely their guardians would pass down the stories of the brutality of the government, and it would only brew into bitterness and anger in the younger generations. The country would continue to divide and form a great chasm between both sides if preventive measures were not taken first.

Borina, finally, decision in mind, moved to the front of store and turned the sign in the window from open to closed, unsure how long Karkat word be over. "Come along," She waved a hand at him, briskly walking with hardly any sounds of her footsteps against the wood floors until she disappeared behind the beaded curtain. The back room was very much like the Western styles: It was all wood and dainty glass. The middle of the room had four wooden chairs, all of which had blue cushions that were delicately embroidered with the great sea goat and fierce crab, of the scorpion and other such deities that belonged to Wonderlandian mythology that only seemed to persist in the Western world. A small table towards the back held glass ornaments of all twelve, a common practice in households where she originated from. The back room held two other sections, one restroom that was appropriately closed off for privacy and a kitchenette area that only had a tiny stove for tea and coffee, a sink, and two cabinets. The windows were stained glass, swirling blues and oranges and yellows, most of the sparse furniture darkened, polished wood.

"What would you like? Coffee? Oh, if you've frequented this East so much, you are likely inclined to tea, no?" Borina took out a kettle and filled it water, setting two mugs on the counter, looking to him for his answer.

2014-09-13 21:07:25
🌀
"Either is fine, whatever is your preference, thank you," Karkat answered. He'd liked the coffee Kanaya had served them, and he also liked tea. Though he'd been so long without either little comfort in the sweeps he'd been imprisoned he had no preference for tea, as he'd been given nothing but water to drink. As she made whatever she preferred, he looked at the embroidery and glass wares.

"These are beautiful, I think I recall seeing similar when I was a child before things became more separated..." before they started burning everything in sight, Karkat thought, "they're deities, aren't they?" He smiled a little at the vague familiarity. "But I suppose I should not get to boiled down in the past," he stood straight, looking over at her seriously now.

"As you are fully aware, and have even informed us of the West's plight, Wonderland is falling apart at the seams. I don't know what the feeling about Alice is out here, but what we know was that the queen was originally hoping the Alice would help her become more powerful. But outside forces, specifically the one who has directly orchestrated our Alice's being here, had other ideas. Of course this was only solidified once he learned only a little of what Wonderland was like. It is now more like the original Alice's mission, one of restructuring, and of course the queen isn't pleased about that."

Karkat paused to breathe and gauge her reaction. "Now that you've heard all that, do you still want me to continue? I won't if you are uninterested in helping. As you can guess we aren't friends of the current rulers of Wonderland, and if we can help it perhaps we can turn things around to be rid of the absolute corruption that has taken hold, and bloody fix this hell hole of a country."

2014-09-13 23:54:23
●
She watched him carefully as she poured hot water into mugs with little bags in them. It was coffee, but it was prepared in the same way that tea was, by steeping, though the Western way demanded that sugar be sprinkled in the bottom of the mug before water is poured in. Borina frowned, her lips a tight line as she listened. This would change everything, and she knew it; if something horrendous occurred that knocked the entire Alice mission clear off the map, she would not be spared.

"Consider me joined," She said at last, holding her mug to her lips as she sipped it carefully, preferring only the sugar to her coffee as she held out the mug to Karkat. She had no creamer since it was more of an eastern thing, and a pot of honey and a glass casing of golden lilies were on the counter. "Though...I am uncertain as to how you will, ahh. Change things for the better. Starnette is rifting," She furrowed her brows, "Half say 'to hell with Alice!' The other half say 'welcome!' So many customers come here and spew their views, 'Alice' is a hivehold name. I burned incense last night and prayed to Virgo for guidance in this tumultuous time but I foresee no quickness in a conclusion." Borina moved and sat at the table, crossing her legs as she rubbed at her temples, a heavy sigh leaving her, "Dearest cherry blood, whatever has your brigade been up to that has put Starnette in such a tizzy?"

2014-09-14 00:41:52
🌀
Holding his cup to essentially suck the warmth out of it through his hands and sipping occasionally, Karkat followed her to sit. He, like Sollux, liked things unsweetened and undiluted. He sighed in relief when she said she'd join. The hardest part was over, in the mutant's mind.

"Not a hell of a lot, honestly. Looking through legislature, and we went to that ball of course. I think most of it is because we are so far spread around the hemospectrum but we don't give a shit about that. Doesn't help that we're all undesirables. I suppose the romance could also be quite...frowned upon," Karkat was smiling a little. It would be so satisfying if the relationship between Tavros and Gamzee got so many people upset. "We have some plans in the works for shifting things. There will probably be chaos galore, though. ...Partially curiosity, but I suppose it could be useful... do people just refer to us solely as a group or do they ever talk about us individually? And has there been anything about the shooting?" He was curious about what the opinions were on their lower casted members, and if there had been any accounts of the assassin in the daytime the last time Tavros had been out of the apartment.

2014-09-14 01:06:40