Hand shaking in balled fists at her side, Luxara turned and retreated to other tree hives in the area. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
Aerona had a point, but using Kursha like that still made Luxara want to punch her in the mouth. As if the redblood had any idea what that implied to bring up Luxara's weakness with trust. Forera, though, well, she could ******** right off. How dare Luxara make one tit-for-tat comment, and Forera got to be offended? ******** whatever. There was a lot she could say, but just. Whatever. She had made her mistakes and was paying for them; if Forera wanted to keep dating a sell-out who couldn't be bothered to show up to something that meant something, let it bite her in the a** someday. Anguis deserved better than to be thrown under the bus when he'd been a good person up through all this.
She wandered into another hive, intent on checking out its contents. If she was the only one who gave a s**t about how weird this all was, fine. She'd get to the bottom of it herself. What life had this troll led? Did anyone keep any plants, even? Were lusii accomodated? She had to see if there were any historical records still in-tact. Maybe these trolls had even been around during the reign of the last queen. She paused, a new thought passing through her thinkpan. Had the Initiative been around while these trolls had been alive?
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 3:38 pm
This hive was only one large room. There were deep gashes in the walls, and the entire placed felt even less structurally sound than the rest of the dwellings, if that was possible. Weapon scars, dents, and bullet holes riddled the walls and window, and the faintest remains of discoloration on the floor and walls bore witness to the many fights that had taken place in here. There had been an attempt to patch up the many dents and cracks in the room, though fresh damage was laid over top, and finally on top, was layered the same patina of age and disuse that shrouded the rest of the village.
Chairs were scattered and stacked haphazardly in corners, most broken and repaired, with legs or backs riveted back on. A large table stood, covered in mould and moss, in the centre of the room. One leg was missing and held up with a sword that had been jammed into the ground, and a long crack that had split it in two in times past was still visible on the clumsily-repaired surface.
Carved into a sign nailed to the wall, clearly visible from the door, the words "Town Council" remained intact, possibly the only part of the room that had not been battered into oblivion. Save for the aforementioned furniture, the only remaining objects in the room was a small bookshelf, holding some miscellaneous items, and a few fossilized books.
Gl!tch~
Hivestuck Captain
Alien Datemate
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Sypon Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 4:52 pm
“Yeah, you’re right,” Aerona bitterly stated. “Geez, you guys. Wasn’t gonna have him culled or anything.” While she appreciated Rasali’s firm command over the situation, the purpleblood had her steamed. She waited for Rasali to ‘arrest’ Cerpin before relaxing, and when she did she felt her whole body tire out. Aerona drooped.
“Ughh… I guess we’re all… Tired, too.” She conceded. Aerona rubbed her eyes and yawned. Mummified trolls and skeletons not-with-standing, the recuperacoons seemed like a pretty decent place for a nap. Even if they were parched with no sopor slime… They just looked kinda squishy still… Aerona wandered over to one and put her hand on it, and immediately recoiled. The smell and texture made her want to gag, like she was reaching into a giant rotten fruit filled with corpses. Maybe not.
The hive’s contents were hard to skim through. Dusty books dissolved in her touch, and any artifacts she could find were often too weathered to identify. Aerona satisfied her own exhaustion by carefully digging through a shelf while sitting on a (thankfully less rotten) chunk of floor. Cerpin had found one of the less damaged books, but there was no way she was going back over there and entertaining him. Aerona weighed the pros and cons of asking him for his find and decided it was better to take the petty route. She shrugged.
seekingCylem
Yamashii
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 6:24 pm
He'd always wanted a pack of girls to fight over him but this was not what he had in mind. Forera squeezed his shoulder comfortingly before Rasali approached to chain him as a prisoner and a look of great shame and displeasure spread across his face as he shook his head. No, he'd only slow the group down if the royalists did manage to stumble across this place and he couldn't even use his hands.
"If you're going to chain me, this would be far more effective." Letting out a huff, he shifted a loop around his neck and allowed himself to be leashed. This was so disgraceful, a troll of his status being dragged around like a common dog! But he could tell it was better to do as Rasali said and she wanted him contained. She commanded the group and seemed to have final say over the others. This was the reason he offered her the journal he'd found.
"Civilization? You're already at it. Journal says there's a sopor slime spring nearby." He wasn't sure if it was still there or not seeing as the dates were a hundred sweeps back. "Since the tunnels are a mess now, the Royalists will have trouble getting here. Meanwhile you guys could just use the route from Busthind. It's safe here, they only died once they ran out of food. No plagues or swampbeast disasters." He looked hopefully to Forera to back him up; she was really doing him a lot of favors he would have to repay eventually. Cerpin vowed to do so once he got out of this mess. Luxara and Aerona put a little distance between themselves and the group and he wondered if this moody-as-hell thing was a normal stage of growing up. There were still a lot of things that didn't make sense to him as a kid. Like sitting on a gross rotted floor. It was rude of him but he sort of wished it would give out under her weight. He made an immature face at her and stuck out his tongue.
"If you can, contact the mutant and get them to bring the Mother Grub here. I'll look for the springs and figure out a way to haul some sopor back. Once the others get here, your strongest fighters will need to rest up." Manual labor was not one of his strengths but he doubted they wanted him poking through more books since they saw him as such a threat. So he might as well focus on cleaning the place up instead! The layers of grime and death were sickening and cast a somber mood over the place but it had once been a bustling colorful place of life if the journal was to be believed.
He rummaged through some of the abandoned junk looking for anything he could use to collect sopor with. He tucked a few cups and jars under his arm but it was going to take a lot of these to fill up a recuperacoon. Ugh, he hoped he could find a pitcher or something instead!
Rasali paused as Cerpin stopped her in order to give instructions on how to bind him. She was too surprised to be offended at the question of her prisoner-taking capabilities. Still, it wasn’t like they actually had proof this child (Rasali mentally stressed the word child) was a royalist agent. Nodding curtly, Rasali obliged, effectively putting Cerpin on a leash.
He was being an admirable sport about the whole situation, especially for a purpleblood. Rasali held the leash loosely in one hand and took the journal in the other. She flipped through it, skimming every few entries. She half-listened to Cerpin’s explanation as she read—expression becoming grimmer with every entry. She closed the journal and placed it in her hip pouch for safe keeping. What a chilling read. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to come back to it later. However, it was clearly an important artifact from a bygone era.
”Hold your hoofbeasts there kiddo. We’re looking for those springs.” Rasali jingled the chain in emphasis. She wasn’t about to waste part of her chain by hooking it up to Cerpin and then just letting him go. Besides, it was a choking hazard.
Without much fanfare, Rasali followed after Cerpin, walking him like a dog. If the sopor spring was blocked off with rocks, the two of them would need someone with some muscle and experience in subterranean dirt-hefting.
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:56 pm
Luxara took careful steps through the room. The foundation was rotting, and it was clear even from glancing in from the outside. But she was drawn in any way. She slowly looked over the absorbed smears on the floor, then gazed at the punctures left on the surrounding area. Finally, something that felt Alternian. Deadly scuffles were way more reassuring than frozen lives.
The greenblood approached one of the walls, staring at it face first. She passed a hand over the little notches left from fired ammunition. Behind her sponge clots, she heard gunfire, then saw flashes of guns held by hands leading to green-banded wrists. Her fingers curled into a fist. Don't. She leaned into the wall as she saw different expressions behind her eyes, felt a plethora of emotions that dragged down into the pit of her belly.
She swallowed at the memory of the bolt stabbing into her side. Then, that time on the beach. Guns before, guns after. Warnings, so many ******** do not, okay?
But the tears came anyway. "s**t."
She slowly slid down and curled into a ball, propped up on the floor. There was a symphony of creaks all around her; this would not be a good sanctuary for her regrets. Sniffling, Luxara got up and wiped her nose and eyes with one sleeve. She turned on her heel and got out of there, refusing to look at the walls again.
She scaled on over to a neighboring hive, intent on poring through any tomes that might still be intact. She needed dates, records, anything that might paint a picture of this place. It would just be a matter of not splattering any green tears on the pages.
The loud ptweet from Rasali immediately brought her attention to the greenblood, face strangely expressionless, slightly thankful Rasali could see what Forera was going at. Though she was a little uncomfortable with her binding the kid, she supposed it was better than nothing, and felt her shoulders sag when the strong greenblood asked her question. She barely watched Luxara as she left the area, feelings dull and angry, practically fuming still. The comment had enraged her, not just for its insult toward Vulpin, but she made it seem like the tealblood didn't care about her twin. Obviously it was just playing around. Was she blind or something? They'd both been doing this for sweeps on end, trading playful blows toward each other that undermines the others confidence. It was funny and frankly, made them closer. Luxara was dumb.
Maybe she just doesn't understand. A voice inside her whispered, but the enraged Forera shut that box right up. ******** her. No one insulted the two most important trolls in her life and got away with it without her snarling or beating them the ******** up. Thankfully Luxara is a friend, or at least, was. Listening to Aerona while Rasali wrapped the chain around Cerpin's neck, the tealblood watched Cerpin closely, nodding eagerly at his words before looking up at Rasali, actually content they would give him a chance. When Tevini arrived, they'd see! She was alright. He was a cool kid.
Trusting Rasali with Cerpin, Forera watched as the team dissipated around her, shoulders sinking, feeling a little empty without her usual posse around her. No matter! She could explore by herself! Climbing down the ladder, Forera shuffled up the steps to one of the lower hives, curious about what could be inside.
Hivestuck
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:06 pm
Where was she supposed to go now? The swamp continued forever and despite taking a brief reprieve in Shuttle's shell, Tevini's legs were starting to tire. Stumbling forward, the girl tried to control her breathing and remain calm even though she felt exhausted and ready to fall over and die. How many brushes with death had she faced now?
'It's not over yet.' Night hadn't ended yet so she still had a chance to find shelter. Forcing her body to continue on, the curly haired troll slogged through the mud. Each step took a significant amount of effort, even if she wasn't injured like others she'd seen. Eventually, she heard noises and slowed, peeking between trees.
'Cerpin?' The boy she'd partnered with appeared to be on some sort of chain leash at the hands of another troll. Tevini gasped at the sight, feeling conflicted. She knew there wasn't much she could do, she had no weapon and wasn't particularly strong or fast. Plus she had only known this troll for less than a day, it was a big risk for someone who was still a stranger. But... he... they were going to find a way to space together! If she let this Royalist take him, she'd be on her own again.
She couldn't let that happen.
"Let him go!" Against every ounce of logic and reason in her brain, Tevini leaped out of the brush and pounced at Rasali, aiming to land on her shoulders so she could pull at her hair and distract her long enough to make her accidentally release the chain.
seekingCylem
No matter how I tried, I couldn't justify Tevini not thinking Rasali a Royalist. Tevini gon' get her a** kickedddd!
Yamashii
In which his savior makes things worse!
Doutei
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Yamashii
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 1:05 am
Damn, he'd been hoping she would fall for that. But no such luck. Rasali walked him near him to keep an eye on him and Cerpin obeyed any simple commands given to him as they began to look around for the springs. She was strong and smart which was going to make escaping very very difficult. There was really nothing around to help him get away seeing as how Blossmom was still injured.
"So uh, my name's Cerpin. I think I mentioned it? Not sure. Hey, is your name really Steam?" At least, that's what the rude redblood had called her. It seemed like a strange name but well, all trolls had weird quirks he guessed. He heard a sound behind them it seemed but made no move to look, figuring it was just his lusus taking a look around. It was getting to the point where he was so stressed out and scared by it all that a dull washed out numbness was coming over him. What new horror could really shock him after what he'd seen in the tunnels and read in the journal?
Something lunged at them and he let out a yell of surprise, trying to defend his captor with a swung of wooden bowl he'd picked up. It crashed straight into his attacker and he felt a sense of triumph at his victory. He had to prove he wasn't against these rebels, protecting them from a blow might nudge things in his favor. His eyes widened in complete shock after his thinkpan registered who their opponent was. s**t.
"T-Tevini? You're alive!" He collapsed to his knees, muck splashing everywhere, to get a closer look at her poor face out of concern. Honestly, he wouldn't have swung if he'd known it was her! Her nose looked a little banged up like it might've bled earlier or something. Had he done that? Cerpin hadn't thought he'd smacked her that hard. Her eyes looked full of fear and panic and he wrapped an arm around her to comfort her but also to restrain her from trying something stupid again.
"Don't hurt her, she's with me! She didn't know who you were, I'm sorry-" The two kids looked up at Rasali with a nervous tension but Cerpin was hopeful her earlier reluctance to harm him would carry over to his friend.
Doutei
Tevini's smackdown godmodded with permission from Dou.
seekingCylem
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 4:43 pm
Rasali was actually rather glad to be taking some time away from the group, even if they looked like they were in need of some crowd control. Hopefully the other girls would be able to work off their tension on their own without any more conflict while she was off exploring. Rasali would normally be all about strong-arming others into talking about their problems, but it had been a very long night and the lot of them were being faced with problems a hell of a lot more pressing than boy troubles.
Besides, sopor sounded so damn good to Rasali right about then. She only partially trusted herself not to drown herself in the spring upon finding it.
Woken from her dazed wandering, Rasali looked down at the troll tethered to the other end of her chain. He was handling this whole POW thing remarkably well. He must not have been very concerned about getting culled by them. She wasn’t sure if that was a highblood thing or if he really was a fellow rebel. Too tired to involve herself in mind games, Rasali took Cerpin’s confidence in stride.
”Nah, we were playing around with codenames while we were outrunning the royalists. My name is Rasali.” Rasali smiled politely. Considering their respective predicaments, she didn’t see the harm in letting the kid know her first name.
She was about to ask Cerpin a few follow-up questions about his involvement, when the two of them picked up a rustling in the bushes. Rasali was immediately on the offensive. Most of her weapon was tied to Cerpin, and Rasali deduced he would make a rather poor bludgeon. She readied her fists and-
Cerpin threw a bowl at Tevini before Rasali could land a single hit. Rasali’s expression turned to one of blank surprise and she dropped Cerpin’s chain, allowing him to run to the fallen troll. It was another child, and a redblood at that. Rasali recognized her from the argument between her teammates. So he really did have a little redblooded friend!
Rasali opened her mouth to try and say something to calm the two kids. They were clearly beside themselves over this whole swamp adventure. Rasali could certainly relate. She sighed and pushed back her hair, scratching at the back of her head.
”Well then,” Rasali paused. She really didn’t know what any of this meant. Did this mean they were definitely rebels? Lowblooded royalists certainly existed. Rasali sighed in exhaustion. This was the last thing she wanted to be dealing with.
”Okay, kiddos. Redblood—Tevini, right? Your friend here is being held on the suspicion of royalist involvement. Let’s hear your side of the story.” Rasali crossed her arms and looked at the kids expectantly. It would be a definitive point in Cerpin’s favor if the lowblood was able to corroborate his story as a rebel ally. In the meantime, she kept her foot planted on the loose end of her chain. Just in case.
In theory, Anguis had known that the swamp was pretty much uninhabitable. He had read about it in his books, when he had looked at the maps while he and Dragondad had traveled. They had visited the edges of it, once, but never gone in it and Anguis was now painfully aware why.
The swamp was a living horror.
Hours of dredging through water, with beasts and bugs and so many other things had kept him on edge. There always felt like there was eyes on him and to be honest, he would have been surprised if there hadn't been. The swamp teemed with so much life that it was surprising, as much as it was scary considering the life wasn't friendly to trolls. Because obviously, if it was, it would have been a different story.
If he hadn't been sick of going through the swamp, he would have laughed at how he had wanted to go here in the past. Dragondad hadn't let him, obviously, it was dangerous even with him around and Anguis mentally thanked him for having the wisdom his younger self didn't have. Even if he had managed to make it this far, it still was terrible. He only hoped Forera and Luxara had come to something better, like higher ground. Or dry land.
He tilted his head back in a sigh, staring up at the foliage only to frown as he caught sight of something not quite right. Was that.. wood? He frowned, his eyes following the out of place plank into realization that larger structures were in the trees. Hives. There were hives in the trees.
Anguis surged forward, looking to see if there was a way into the trees as he crashed through the bushes, finally catching the sound of faint voices. He followed them, coming out a little farther to find a small group of trolls to the left. It was the kids and... a greenblood that he faintly remembered being part of Forera and Luxara's group. If she was here, they were bound to be here. Probably. In any case, he could still explore and get out of the water. His boots were good protection but he still wanted something firmer. Scanning, his eyes landed on a ladder. It was mossy, but it'd have to do.
Giving only a wave, figuring they'd rather not be bothered, he climbed up the ladder, carefully making sure he wouldn't slip on the moss. But the careful climb was worth standing at the top in something not water, something more solid. The only problem now, was just finding the two trolls he actually cared about that he thought were here.
"Hello? Forera? Luxara?" Anguis called out, hoping one of them could hear him as he started to navigate the trees. This place was a maze to him, unfamiliar as it was.
Gl!tch~
HEYO
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:46 pm
Zariah Rutace Just Beastdad? Kei? Shittybluebloodguy? Uhh....
Where were they? Kei should've beaten him to the village....she left first with her...cargo...shouldn't she have been there already? He could see other rebels....but there was no fluffy black hair like his....he felt uncomfortable. He'd expended what was left of his nerves dealing with Chiara apparently, without someone to try to protect he didn't have much in supply. Though....maybe he could at least try to find something to help her? Maybe he could find some leftover medical supplies...hell, he'd take clean water or a kettle to boil some in at this point. But that injury Kei had in her stomache....he wanted to be able to at least somewhat patch her up.
Zariah gave a final glance to the other trolls before poking around in the building, giving a timid knock in case someone remained inside. "Hello? Just uh.....just looking for medical supplies," he said rather lamely."Just some....gauze...maybe disinfectant....maybe just some clean water or a pot.." he trailed off as he walked inside the first building, nervously looking around.
The voice was paralyzing. Her name, too, spoken out in a searching tone. Luxara's hand hovered over an ancient book she was about to pull from a shelf. Instead, she pulled her hand back and held it to her chest. Her eyes flickered around the floorboards as she considered.
Option 1: run away. Anguis was Forera's brother. He was his own person, but they were still joined at the hip. Forera would be the priority, and the one he would probably sympathize with more. More so, was she really in a position to force her problems on him? Would he even care? He was nice, but assuming things was always a bad move on her part.
Option 2: ******** that. Anguis was his own person. Forera could go suck it with her shitty boyfriend.
Still, Luxara wasn't about to rush out or go out of her way to force some kind of tug of war on the boy. She just didn't want to be alone. At the same time, she looked like a wreck, again, and didn't want anyone to see it. She'd have to paw the left over wetness from her face and hope there weren't any bags under her eyes. Crying like a wiggler wasn't optimal, ever.
Her exit from the hive was a slow one, hesitant even, and she watched Anguis as he came into view nearby. Calling to him might just get Forera to come out from wherever and pitch another fit or some bullshit. Who even knew at this point.
PeanutButterpies
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 8:51 pm
He kept an eye out for any sign of movement as he moved through the treetops, trying to watch his step. The place didn't look like it had been lived in in a very long time, if the smell wasn't already an indicator or the layers of dust that he had seen in a few of the hives. He hadn't heard anything yet and the silence was eerie, reminding him of the swamp he had been in.
If he hadn't been keeping an eye out for someone, anyone, he probably would have been startled by Luxara's appearance. As it was he just smiled, glad to have at least found someone. "Hey you, glad to see you're in one piece," He said, moving forward. It felt a little weird she hadn't said a hello back, but he continued on, asking "You mostly alright? Where's the rest of the group?"
Gl!tch~
grayseasons
Tiny Trickster
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Doutei
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 9:11 pm
"Wha-?" Disoriented by the second attack to the face, Tevini had trouble focusing for a moment. She felt an arm wrap around her and blinked in a dazed confusion. Why was-wait who-Oh!
"I thought you were a royalist." The redblood admitted, feeling embarrassed and nervous that now she'd messed everything up. If this troll was a Rebel she might have just given them more suspicion that the two of them were royalists by attacking her! It still concerned her that Cerpin had been on a chain like a dog, had he done something to warrant that? Was she going to be judged because of her association with him now? With the way he was holding her, it almost looked like there was something going on! He had an attractive face, she couldn't deny that but he was still a relative stranger to her! No, focus on not getting killed Tevini! Gulping she nodded that she would try to explain.
"Well, we... did come with the royalists." She knew better than to lie about that part, they would know that neither of the kids had been in the tunnels before the attack. Plus some of the rebels might have even seen them among the royalist ranks. This troll wanted an honest answer and she wanted it quick. Even though her head hurt, her thinkpan was still capable of basic logic.
"They tricked us, said they were taking us to a banquet of sorts. Once we arrived it'd been changed to a hunt." Tevini shuddered, remembering that voice. Annihilation. She'd been so close to it mere minutes ago.
"I-we wanted no part in it but we couldn't exactly just leave. So we ended up here and have been trying to find shelter until they clear out of the area." They were pretty far away from civilization and she knew there was only so much time left before night ended. She felt tense even taking the time to talk things out, precious time was disappearing.
"I'm really sorry. I promise we mean no harm!" Not above groveling, Tevini finally brushed Cerpin's arm off her and leaned down into a deep bow of submission, her curls dangling down to the surface of the swamp water. She was already covered in mud and filth from Cerpin's take down, no point in being squeamish about dirt now. Hopeful that the troll would see that they honestly had no weapons or power, Tevini stayed down until Rasali responded.
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