thecapitol | When you were young you were the king of carrot flowers

They didn't find Gamzee soon enough to know what had happened. Only him looking piteous and the girl, a strange spin on Latula, standing there with a stranger expression, then turning to familiar fear before she bolted.

It is a persistent check of lists. Has revelation come to his ancestor-descendant? No. Is this a time to act? No. Should he do something about this person?

His alter wants her checked on, but won't do it himself. He is starting to have doubts, but he remembers that revelation has been bared from his alternate. Lesser. But greater all the same; he'd not question the importance of the alternates as playing pieces, for the greater purpose. Such a delicate thing.

Besides, It was too hard to keep secrets here. He's been told already of their surveillance. There shall be no grand acts preformed here.

He doesn't rush to the top of the stairs, taking his own time. For a moment, upon reaching the roof, he just observes. Unlike the other two, the wind doesn't call back to open ocean waters. It rattles a hollow form and moves past.

He puts on a soft smile and steps forward out onto the roof, high-healed boots clicking lightly as he moves.

She was supposed to apologize. That's the thought going through Terezi's head, as she stands up there on the roof. Try as she might, she can't just not think about everything that's happened. She's mad at herself, but what was she supposed to do? She couldn't say what she wanted to say right there with Gamzee there and that other guy...

Terezi hears footsteps behind her and for a moment she's terrified that Fraysong followed her up here after all that. Her shoulders tense and she turns to face him... and it's the other one. Speak of the devil.

"What are you doing here?" The question comes out before she thinks of it, more confusion and a reaction than a real question. She's not even sure who he is, at first, before the pieces click together. He's a Makara, certainly. Not Gamzee or Fraysong, but a third... there's really only one other option.

"You're... Kurloz. Right? From Beforus?"

To the first question, he lifts his hands high in a shrug. Why was he here? Well anyone could guess that. Because this place, the Capitol, wanted him here. Becuase the Messiahs willed it. Because he'd been told. None of the answers really matter.

And then she says his name and the shortest bout of surprise washes over him that she knows it already. Then, he beams, presses his hands flat, palm to palm, and nods.

He puts a hand to his chest and then gestures out to the space beside where she stands. My dragon sister, a brother has inquiry about him if she might acquiesce to a partition of her most righteous mother fuckin presence.

He gestures from himself to the space beside her, and it only takes a moment for Terezi to realize what he's asking.

"Sure, I guess." She doesn't mind that much. He smells a lot like Fraysong, but not enough that she wants to turn him away. She pats the rail next to her as a proper invitation.

A yes. He smiles, as if pleased, and walks over. He rests his bone-thin arms up on the rails and leans. Breathing deep, he gazes over the city and exhales. He hasn't seen such a sight since well before the game began. A city stretched out, lit the fuck up. Noisy.

He turns to look at her, tilting his head a little. His brows lift in question at her-- at first, no question in particular, just a want for thoughts. On the city, on what happened back there, on anything. But then he notices something, tapping just at the corner of his charcoal lined eye, then pointing at her. His stitches pull where he smiles. She's got different glasses in shape from Latula, he notices, but the same red hue. That is interesting.

Edited 2014-04-20 18:22 (UTC)

It doesn't escape her notice that he hasn't said a word to her, but it's not until he gets closer that she realizes why. There's a brief expression of surprise on her face...but she doesn't ask about it. She knows well enough how tedious it can get to explain stuff like that.

Instead, she tries to pay attention to his gestures. The tap to his eyes has her mimicking the movement, and her fingers touch the tip of her glasses.

"These?" It's either that or her eyes. She doesn't think they would be special to anyone else, but... "They were my ancestor's. I made a pair like hers... I think you would know her as Latula? But older..."

Its always easy to tell when someone's finally noticed. Its a reflection on the person, he thinks, how all ever they react. More info to tuck away safe.

He nods and makes the shape of a rectangular box with one hand and a pointer finger of the other to close it off. He puts the rectangle shape over one eye, then the other. The Latula he knows where's a different shape, but he notes the implication of her still wearing the glasses all the same.

Their twelve and twelve-- as he presumes it to be, with what information he's gathered from his alter and as himself-- have so far reflected each other well, he thinks. He gives two thumbs at her.

Terezi smells the shape he makes, but she's not quite sure she gets what he's trying to say. Glasses, yes. Something about those... And then he gives her two thumbs up, and she smiles a little.

"I am going to guess that you are trying to voice your approval." A thought occurs to her--something her and Karkat were talking about. Digging into her pocket, she pulls out some pieces of chalk. Red, blue, and green.

"Here. Is this easier for you?"

This time, his reaction is real. He goes still, staring at the chalk. Did this defy the wishes of the holy? He mimes with Meulin but he's not sure how far this all goes, if it's a line crossed.

And without even his color to do it with.

He weighs the options and decides, maybe, he can work with it. He texts Mituna all the time. And anyway, this will work with swaying her whatever which way. The blue is closer to his color, but he takes the green.

He settles down on the ground. Then, just to christen the ground with the color, he starts of simple;

:o)

He goes still, and Terezi has to wonder if there's something wrong. The smile in green on the ground says one thing, but his reaction says another.

She settles down with him, taking up a piece of red chalk herself. Next to the smile, she draws one of her own in red:

>:]

"Is this okay?" she asks. "You seemed unsure."

She settles down with him, putting them on much more even level. He writes in all capitol letters.

THINE SELF SHALT NOT GIVE ORATION OF THE IRRESOLUTE, AND THUS SUCH DUBIETIES EXIST ONLY AS THE BREAKING YONDER MOTHER FUCKIN LIGHT OF WHAT DOTH BE IMPERATIVE OR INESSENTIAL. OF THE UNACCEPTABLE, THY WOULD NOT HARDLY MOTHER FUCKIN ACCEPT.

:o)

It looks strange in green. Like all he took on his wicked Kitty sister's colors. That pulls at his lips some.

Terezi seems mildly pleased, when he starts to write. It must be okay, if he's conceding to communicate like this, right? She cocks her head, sniffing at the words as he finishes them. The first thing she notices is that they use the same alphabet. Strange, but convenient. The second thing she notices... is that she still can't understand it.

She reads it once... Twice... A third time. The fourth time around, she thinks she might get it. A small laugh escapes her mouth. "You are...without a doubt, a Makara."

She pauses, then asks: "So you're...worried about using words? Because it's unacceptable? Or...not essential?" She's trying, okay.

Her statement elicits some amusement in him as well. He snorts.

THOU DOST DELIVERS A DECENT ENOUGH SURMISING TO AFFORD A RIGHTEOUS APPROBATION.

HOW OUGHT A HOMIE BE OF RESONANCE BUT IN SHADOW TO THINE OWN BEING? HE IS A MAKARA MOST MOTHER FUCKIN TRUE AND LEGIT, FOR THERE BE NO IMMUNITY GRANTED FOR SUCH FRONTING.

:o)

"No posers allowed, huh?" Terezi grins, feeling a little bit of pride that she at least got a figurative gold star. He's a little more weird than she's used to, but not so weird that she can't adapt.

She hasn't been using her chalk for words, so she starts to doodle instead. A little picture of Redglare with her uniform and her cane. And a dragon nearby.

"This is Neophyte Redglare... Latula, but from my universe." She pauses, lifting her head to address him. "You know about the different sessions...right?"

He gives two thumbs up in response. Then picks the chalk back up again as he watches her create the new Latula.

Kurloz Makara the first, is not the artist his second life is. He tries to draw and it, quite frankly, looks... unfortunate. He scrawls shapes with deepest concentration, making a lumpy figure out of the blue he snatches up. He draws long hair on the half-stick figure, draws a smile on her, then points at Terezi's red and hold his hand out should she allow it to him and let him draw the two rectangles of Latula's glasses (which will inevitably be more square-shaped on the one side). And of course the necessary skateboard.

He is not an artist. His art was performance, not this. He's got smilies and the understanding of how to draw decent quadrant shapes-- the latter thanks to Meulin.

He writes the name under Latula's representation; LATULA.

Then some good distance away from her he draws yet another smile. :o)

Terezi dutifully hands the red chalk over when Kurloz reaches for it, letting him finish his picture with the proper colors. She makes a small noise of realization when he draws the little red rectangles over her eyes. She has different glasses. Rectangle ones. That's what he was trying to say.

She studies the picture for a minute, trying to take in all the important bits. She wore her hair longer. She has a skateboard? That seems pretty cool, but then she remembers what Dave said about her... She tries too hard, apparently. A frown crosses her features briefly. What does he know, anyway.

"She used to be here. My version, not yours. But they got rid of her. I don't know why." It still hurts to think about sometimes. Having to get used to her ancestor being dead again wasn't something she ever wanted to do. But there were a lot of things here that she didn't want to do.

She lifts her head, addressing Kurloz briefly before picking up her chalk again. "There are others, too. Kankri is the only one from your universe. But there was... Nitram. Ampora." She doesn't know their first names, so she uses their last. And she sketches their symbols on the ground while she's at it. "Leijon--she's still here. And the older Vantas. Which is weird because three Vantases is something I never wanted to deal with." But she's getting sidetracked... He's obviously aware that his other self is here. Which leaves...

"And... Captor. He's still here, too."

He watches her draw, listens to her speak, absorbing, remembering. Nitram and Ampora. Rufioh, Cronus. Disasters in their own right and ways. Dear Meulin, yes. Kankri he'd seen in distirct five, though only in one iteration, not the second. Captor.

His eyes light up. Just a tiny little bit without intention.

Underneath the Gemini sign he draws a diamond. Then underneath the Leo, a heart. He looks fond.

MY HOMIES MOST MOTHER FUCKIN REAL WOULD SEE OF THE DELINEATIONS REALISED WITH ARTISTRY AND APLOMB. OURS WOULD BE A NINJA'S REJOICING AND CALLING IT MONEY.

:o)

He draws more diamonds and hearts.

"...That is cute as fuck." Terezi laughs as he doodles diamonds and hearts around those two signs. His quadrants. She knows that neither one of them are here, and that must be hard for him... but honestly, she can't feel that bad. It's better like this.

Who knows how long he's going to be around, anyway.

"Do you have any others?" She asks, gesturing to the symbols in an effort to derail her train of thought. Gossiping about quadrants is a lot easier than thinking about their situation. "Or is it just those two?"

She calls it cute. He puts his hands to his chest, as if touched. Then winks.

He squirms and wiggles into lying on his stomach as he pokes around and the ground with the chalk, heels kicking lazily up on the air. He then draws a circle around Mituna's sign and Meulin's. Up in between he draws in his sign, the hills and curves, swoops and loops.

CONTEMPLATIONS HATH BEEN GIVEN THE DUES SO DESERVING BUT SUCH FLIRTING DOST BE FLEETING. MY AFFECTIONS BE OF THEM SOUL AND SOUL, MY MAGE AND HEIR.

While technically it was twelve of them, but if she means quadrants-- if she means who was really important-- then the two would do.

He pauses, thinking about how he hasn't said so much to anyone save those two in a very long time.

He makes himself comfortable and informs her--as far as she can understand--that those are his only two serious quadrants. She nods, an acknowledgment that she understands, before settling in smell him doodle on the ground.

It's sweet, how fond he seems... It reminds her briefly of someone else before she leans over and draws the tiniest diamond next to Meulin's sign. Followed by the most obvious aversion of her attention as possible.

He notices. Oh he most certainly does. He raises his brows at her addition and he raises his brows at her.

He surveys her over again, closer. Close to Meulin. Not his quadrant though. Not his Meulin. Would this cause problems? He thinks about it hard, sorts it through. Then finally decides, no, it won't. It shouldn't.

He writes on the ground, an invitation.

A PROFICIENCY HAS BEEN BLESSED OF ME, THE MOST MOTHER FUCKIN RIGHTEOUS OF ARTS. NOT A SOUL HEARS THE SECRETS I KEEP, SHOULD A HOMIE YEARN FOR THE SHEDDING OF WEIGHT.

He puts the chalk down and watches her with a smile most serene, just like they used on him back before they realised nothing would change to how it was, back to when there was a world to even give him such a look.

Edited 2014-04-22 02:46 (UTC)

Terezi gradually gets around to reading the words he's written. She notices the smile, and though it feels strangely off, it doesn't raise any red flags in her mind. It pings her as something forced, but she doesn't know the reasons why. Maybe he's trying a little too hard to be comforting. Who knows.

"It's a recent thing, that's all," explains, quickly and with a touch of nervousness. She feels like it must be obvious that she doesn't know what she's doing. "We just kind of...fell into it, I guess. She helped me... A lot." And Terezi can't deny that there's a certain amount of protectiveness that she has for Meulin, too.

How sweet. It's so genuine too, he knows, Meulin is the one who taught him the signs of such wicked romancings. His dear kittybitch gone all pale for the dragon. He ponders if these same leanings would hold for Latula and his own Meulin, but he doubts it. And as much as a closed circle could prove useful-- Mituna to him, he to Meulin, Meulin to Latula, and Latula back to Mituna again-- Latula was far too... keen perhaps. Not so much she was an issue now. In fact, as she was, she was in perfect place in it all. But any closer would disrupt the balance.

His eyes close with his smile as he raises a hand to his chest, over his heart. Then he reaches out and place his hand over hers. A supportive gesture. One of kindness.

He pulls back and reaches for the blue, drawing a smaller of Latula's, and so he assumes, Terezi's sign next to the diamond by Meulin's. Then he winks and gives a thumbs up.

Edited 2014-04-27 23:29 (UTC)

Terezi isn't necessarily expecting the kind gestures. The hand over hers--not to mention the thumbs-up and the wink--are enough to put a bit of a teal flush back into her ears. But she does smile a little, as well.

"Thank you." The words are more embarrassed than grateful, but it's the thought that counts, right? She ponders the little marks on the ground, wondering if she should add to them. There's only one other quadrant that she's in, but... who knows if that's still a thing anymore.

She frowns, then reaches out to pick up all three colors. Carefully, she draws a green club beneath the Libra symbol he just drew. To one side, she draws a red Cancer symbol; to the other she draws a blue Capricorn symbol. She sets the pieces of chalk down again.

"There's that, too, maybe... I don't know where it stands right now." What with Fraysong being mad at her and all.

He smiles in a way that easily portrays 'you're welcome'. The blush is funny. And a good sign too. He's found his way in, at least a little bit. It was more than good enough. And on the lighter note, it is good simply to find one who hears his words and seems to enjoy his company.

Sure as a river runs, the secrets spill over. Though quadrants can hardly be called secret at the best of times, in this case and place, it still counts for something. He observes her draw... some sign he doesn't know. And then his own. Ashen.

He reaches for the blue and draws a simple face.

:o?

And he taps the red sign unknown, in question. Then he turns his palm upwards, to confirm the confusion.

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pythianjudgment - 2014-06-17 03:08 (UTC) - Expand

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carnagecarnival - 2014-06-17 20:09 (UTC) - Expand

When you were young you were the king of carrot flowers

[POV change -> Kurloz]

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