#cancrinegeist

GAMZEE: Gamzee was in a good mood. Despite losing Candy Apple (much sadness over that cat. He thought they had something special) Karkat was going through all the trouble helping him buy cat stuff to be able to take care of a cat of his choice. While this new cat would never replace Candy, he was still looking forward to it. So, it was with a big grin that he answered Karkat as they walked. "Shit motherfucker, I ain't got no certainties on that. I guess when I lay my gander globes on at the cute lil' motherfucker, I'll know it all up in my pump biscuit which one I'm all meant to be taking back hive, yeah?" he says.

Kurloz: In another world, yet a close one, Kurloz and Jade were wandering down the street. It was one of Kurloz's usual sweeps of the city, though this time he disguised it as a chance to hang out with Jade rather than go it alone. He was walking beside her, nudging her in the shoulder to point out a particularly fat pigeon that was waddling across the sidewalk. Gamzee would have loved that damn bird, but at least maybe Jade was now here to enjoy the sight of the obese, feathered fiend with him instead.

Jade: Jade wasn't quite sure what they were looking for or where but small time details like that didn't usually seem to matter so long as she and her company were having fun. Along she and Kurloz trecked down the streets of a city she hardly knew but was eager to explore. At the fat waddling pigeon Kurloz pointed out, Jade laughed, noting how cute it was as it walked. She loved the way pideons did that head-bobbing thing like they were constantly just dancing their way over to someone they were about to oh so smoothly seduce. She grinned at Kurloz and mimicked the bird's movements to make him smile.

Karkat: Eye, rollllll. But Karkat just sighed and decided to deal with it, giving a light shrug, the two litter boxes kinda bumping one another as he did so, producing a light, plastic thud. "Fine, we'll check out some houses that I saw were selling cats. Most of them are kittens though. I got a list of some addresses of people trying to get rid of kittens for free or cheap. I don't want to pay the earth equivalent of four hundred beetles for a fur shedding nightmare. I read online not to buy pets from chain stores because the breeding is usually low quality and they don't live as long or are as healthy," he nodded knowingly here, like he was the master of pet information when it came to buying them. Yes, he has this on lockdown, so much lockdown.

GAMZEE: "Honk! Aight, best friend." Shit, Karkat was so smart. He already had the whole situation completely handled, already knowing where they could find some cats to give a home to. Gosh, this was so exciting. And you know what else was exciting? Well, not really exciting, just kind of interesting. That fat bird not too far from where he was standing. It was so fluffy and fat, and it waddled as it walked. Gamzee was completely amused. "Hahaha, best friend, take a gander up at that little feathered motherfucker, walking shades motherfucking hilarious all through the motherfuckin' pavement."

Kurloz: Kurloz couldn't help but grin as Jade mimicked the pigeon, the pigeon itself seemingly insulted because it chose that point to puff up and then fly away. It was amazing it could even get off the ground, but so it goes. Kurloz followed up Jade's miming of pigeon walking by lifting a gloved hand into the air, soaring it along a little bit until tipping his fingers downwards and letting his hand fall. Nyeeerrooom--CRASH. There was no way a pigeon as rotund as that could stay airborne, even though the pigeon pointedly ignored the effects of gravity and clearly made up its own laws of aerodynamics by doing the exact opposite of what Kurloz predicted. Fucking bird. The mime just shrugged.

GAMZEE: Oh. Aw. The bird went away. Oh well.

Kurloz: The bird's a dick, sorry.

GAMZEE: That's why cats are better... even if they leave too. Sad face.

Karkat: Karkat, fortunately for Gamzee, did indeed see the fat ass bird, and just scrunched his nose up in distaste, temporarily freeing one hand by setting the cat carrier down on the sidewalk so he could brush some black bangs out of his face, before picking it back up. "Amazing, a bird almost as fat as your head is," he muttered simply, just shrugging in a lot of disinterest, it was just a bird.

Jade: It is a well known fact that pigeons are dicks. Even Jade, an all around animal lover, is wary of the feathered assholes and doesn't much mind when the particular one waddling in their way not a moment before high-tails it out of there. She laughed again, though she at least had the decency to stifle a few of her giggles as she watched Kurloz continue. Oh, the poor thing was probably angry. In the back of her mind Jade hoped karma wouldn't catch up to them and that pideon didn't end up laying a doozy on their heads. Though that was just the kind of thing pideons would do. Damn pideons.

GAMZEE: Gamzee couldn't help it. He let out a funny, honking laugh at Karkat's comment about his head. "My head ain't fat, I just am all having too much motherfucking hair, I think," Gamzee commented, adjusting the bag of food in his arms. That could be a possibilty, too have a lot of hair that your head looked fat, right? Yeah, he was sure of it. "Man I wish you could've gotten to meet Candy Apple. They were a sweet meowbeast. Really motherfuckin' friendly."

Karkat: "I'm sure we'll find a cat just as sweet and friendly as her, maybe we'll even find one that has differently colored eyes or something," He just shrugged here, before, taking a moment to pause on the sidewalk, thinking as he stared at a nearby street sign. "I think there's an apartment building just two streets down where a family had a litter of kittens recently. Two of them are already gone, but they've got three left. Maybe? I could be remembering the wrong litter set for the wrong house."

Kurloz: Pigeons are ultimate dicks, but luckily this one had no intention of pushing its dickery to a new level. Instead Kurloz's good mood managed to persist despite the birds comeuppance, though everything ground to a halt as he glanced away from Jade and towards the sidewalk. Was that... could it be? He started, his body freezing as what was an all too familiar site graced his eyes. He was utterly disbelieving for a long moment until his body snapped into action. Kurloz could be incredibly fast when he needed to be, and his purple boots thudded against the bricks of the sidewalk at an alarming pace as he rushed forward to try and catch his "brother" in a desperate hug.

GAMZEE: The idea of little meowbeasts all purring and meowing like cute little motherfuckers, had Gamzee smiling like a goofball. Awww, that would be so adorable. Tiny little fuzzy creatures to love on and cuddle. "I can't wait, best friend. I wanna see--" Gamzee went silent as he was suddenly caught in a very firm arm lock by some stranger. While his mind was a little hazy and pleasantly fuzzy because of the sopor, but he wasn't high enough to dismiss someone suddenly grabbing him so firmly without warning so easily. He was immediately on edge, as he dropped whatever he was holding and just broke out of the armlock into which he was restrained, immediately moving to stand by Karkat. If you were close enough, you would hear him growling just a little bit at whoever the stranger was, just ready to attack if he had to.

Jade: It's so strange how any little thing when rightly placed, the turn of a smile, the urgency of an action, could change the air between people so entirely. Jade watched, confused and a bit stunned as Kurloz broke into a run toward...who was that guy he was so desperately clinging to? "Kurloz?" she called, going after him but stopping when she glanced a little further to find Karkat standing beside the man Kurloz was surely suffocating by now. "Karkat??" she called out, now even more confused than before. What the heck was he doing in her universe? Is this the one he decided to live in? "What's going on?"

Karkat: Karkat did not drop what he was holding, largely because he wasn't the one being grabbed onto, but someone randomly rushing at them and latching onto Gamzee certainly was alarming. And as soon as it was happening, Karkat was tensed up, his face twisted into a scowl. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He demanded, his tone pretty damned authoritative and loud. Though, when his name was called out, and he glanced over to see Jade, he was obviously startled. What the fuck was happening? Why wasn't she on her earth? "Jade can you get your friend to back off?!"

Kurloz: Kurloz had barely had time to enjoy the hug before everyone was reacting-- his mistaken brother pulled away, Karkat snapped at him, and even Jade was calling his name, but Kurloz only stood there dumbly, still half reaching out for Gamzee and with an expression on his face that both spoke of shock and sorrow as it kicked in that perhaps the target of his affections wasn't who he thought it was, but how was that possible? He took another step forward towards Gamzee, reaching out for him again with his arms spread in a manner that implied he meant no harm. Jade, quick, stop him, he's being creepy! At least at first glance Jade may be able to notice, and Karkat too, that Gamzee and Kurloz look /devastatingly/ similar. It was almost uncanny.

GAMZEE: It looked like the stranger wasn't going to attack, so Gamzee relaxed just a bit. However, when he got a better look at the other's face, he noticed some incredibly familiar aspects about his face, especially the mirthful design that decorated it. It was so shocking, so unexpected, that Gamzee felt himself taking a step back as he just... stared at the other in his belief. First he was angry and defensive, now he was nearly paralized with fear. Despite it not being very logical, the first thing that Gamzee thought was that the Kurloz from their timeline had found them, disguising himself as a human to blend in and kill them. Yes, not a very logical explanation but Gamzee's near state of panic was making him imagine the worst. There was definitely some recognition in Gamzee's expression, but maybe that look of pure horror would not be something Kurloz might want to see. Karkat better do something or Gamzee may just start screaming.

Jade: "Hey, there's got to be a reason why he attacked your friend! I'm sure this is just a big misunderstanding!!" Jade piqued up, ready to jump to Kurloz's defense almost immediately. Still, she looked to Kurloz and said with a bit of hesitance in her voice, "Right Kurloz?" He didn't seem to hear her. In fact, he was moving again toward the man she was now sure was growling at him. And for some reason he looked a heck of a lot like Kurloz. But...it wasn't who he thought it was. It couldn't be and she understood now. "Hey! Snap out of it!!" she exclaimed, moving herself between both of her friends and keeping Kurloz back by holding him around the waist. She raised a hand to his face to lead his gaze toward her own. "It's not him. It's not him, okay? He's my friend's friend. It's not him," she repeated.

Karkat: Okay, now that the initial shock for Karkat died down just a bit, Karkat was setting the things in his hands down onto the concrete. First things first, despite the other guy's odd advances, he didn't seem to be trying to attack them. And Jade was pulling him back, and Gamzee looked downright terrified and Karkat was drawn to calm him down before anything else. A hand reached out, and gently pulled Gamzee back by his arm, "He's not going to hurt you Gamzee, it's okay, shoosh!" And then, finally, Karkat was able to get a good look at Kurloz's face and... oh. Well, fuck. He and Gamzee's human disguise kind of... looked a lot alike. And Karkat could see the facial structure similarities between this human before him, and the Kurloz he knew and was friends with, and it was obvious to him now who stood in front of him. A Kurloz alternate, tied to Gamzee just as so many of the makaras seemed to be so closely tied within their own timelines. He probably thought Gamzee was HIS Gamzee. This wouldn't turn out good.

Kurloz: Gamzee was... horrified? Kurloz balked at that, ceasing his advance and looking hurt until Jade cut in as the voice of reason. Just as Gamzee sidled towards Karkat, Kurloz now turned to Jade, his brows knitting and expression concerned as he drank in what she had to say but didn't seem very happy about it. He glanced back to Gamzee (his name /was/ Gamzee even, the guy just said it!) and then to Jade, before he just... Kind of collapsed in on himself. He dropped into a crouch, low to the sidewalk, as he buried his face into his gloved palms. Give him a second, he was pretty well overwhelmed right now with everything that was happening. The guy who looked like his brother had his brother's name but /clearly/ didn't remember him and he had no idea /what/ to do. His real brother wouldn't look at him with that horrified expression right? Right?? Fuck, he didn't know.

GAMZEE: Gamzee broke out of his stupor when Karkat pulled at him and shooshed him. Calm washed over him, and his shoulders slumped a little as he looked down at Karkat with an uncertain look. Was he really not going to hurt them? With some insecurity he looked back at Kurloz and at Jade (she somehow knew Karkat? was this the human he had taken to Alternia?) before he looked at Kurloz, watching him hide his face in his hands. He looked... a little devastated. That... that was not a reaction he expected. He didn't think he's ever seen a Kurloz look so dejected. "Um..." he began, looking from Karkat, to Kurloz to Jade and back. "Sorry. " Why was he apologizing? The world might never know.

Jade: Jade knelt down in front of him when he went down, keeping her hands to herself as she let him have his moment for now. There usually wasn't much else she could do when he was upset about his brother. Meanwhile she threw a very dirty look at Karkat's feet, not directly at him because she knew none of this was anybody's fault but because she couldn't help but let the thought sink in that none of this would have happened if they all hadn't been in the wrong universe at the wrong time. Maybe this was karma getting back at them for being mean to that pigeon earlier. Just as she inwardly began to promise herself she'd never be mean to another pigeon again, Gamzee spoke and Jade moved aside to give Kurloz the chance to work this through in his mind.

Karkat: It was... really awkward, honestly, the way Kurloz just kind of crumbled down in on himself, and the way they had really no choice but to just stand there awkwardly as the other just kind of as there. Karkat and Gamzee weren't part of this world and he didn't honestly think something like this would happen. What were even the odds? He just papped Gamzee's arm, silently, as he waited. In a way, he could... kind of understand whatever Kurloz might be going through. There was no one in his life like that, not a human sibling, not a friend, but a parent of sorts. He remembered the absolute rage and confusion he'd felt the first time he'd happened upon an alternate that still had his lusus and treated him like shit. It wasn't much, but it was close, and he could understand how it might feel to see someone you recognize and someone important to you in some way and how they didn't only not react to you, but looked at someone else the way you looked at them.

Kurloz: Kurloz hung for a moment there with his face in his hands, but once Jade settled in front of her one hand reached out to gently grab her sleeve, a surprisingly pathetic gesture for the mime but he just needed some grounding right now and Jade was the only person he trusted for it. There were no tears and his face didn't betray any particular emotion, but his body was easy to read. He was tensing up slowly, his fingers gripping tighter on Jade's sleeve as she offered him some room, and Jade may have been able to see the tell-tale warning signs of danger to come with how Kurloz's boots ground down against the ground and every muscle of his body strung tight. It was the calm before the storm, Gamzee's voice and /very face/ now causing such a rage to wash through him as Kurloz grew confident that this imposter was not his brother but someone else wearing his skin-- someone else who didn't deserve it. Kurloz lunged forward with intention to attack the fraud, but if Jade read the signs she might be able to stop him from getting there.

GAMZEE: Gamzee just kind of stared, being comforted by Karkat's paps, and his mere presence, as he watched the two other humans. However, Gamzee did notice the warning signs coming from the other, so his relaxed posture quickly tensed. He raised his hands up to stop Kurloz and probably break his hands if he just as much touched him. He had no idea what turned him to suddenly attack him out of the blue, but Gamzee wasn't going to stand around and let himself (or his moirail) be hurt by some strange human.

Jade: The simple way in which he began to tighting his hold on her sleeve paired with how he wasn't reacting the way she was sure he was supposed to was warning enough. But this was silly. She knew he was upset and all of this was probably weighing down on him much more than she could possibly ever relate to, but this was getting out of hand and there was no way she was going to let him get himself into this sort of mess the way he was right now. She frowned and stood rooted to her spot, reaching out both hands to grab him around the waist again and keep him back. He was much stronger than she was despite everything though so all she probably accomplished was keeping him from Gamzee by a few inches at best. "Damn it, Kurloz! They're my friends! Stop it!!" Uh oh. She could feel her feet slipping. "You're going to hurt me too if you don't STOP!!!"

Karkat: Karkat wasted no time in pulling his sickles out of his sylladex, drawing a shit ton of stares from passersby to the situation, and some were getting pretty interested. Karkat hardly noticed though, he just situated himself firmly in front of Gamzee, with a scowl on his face as he moved into a nice, fluid position. He had been trained by the cult to use these weapons to defend himself. There was a lot of debate on it, but he was trained and, while not being willing, he'd use them if he had to. "You lay a goddamn hand on me or Gamzee and I'll slice your ass from neck to bone bulge!" Truth be told, he'd probably try pinning Kurloz first before going straight to that level of violence.

Kurloz: Hey guys, Kurloz just wanted to punch the guy that was wearing his brother's face! A perfectly natural reaction, even though his hand would have probably stopped before he could even land the punch; it looked too much like his brother. Regardless any combativeness was dangerous, and Jade's plea was successful in pulling back, not so much out of fear for her but rather the fear of what it might do to their relationship if he /did/ allow her to get hurt. Jade was still of use to him as far as comfort and companionship went, and his rage died down, his body going limp as he settled back. His broad shoulders slumped as he ended up leaning into Jade, his hands at his sides and no longer clenched with brewing threat. That didn’t mean he stopped staring daggers at the other two. Very, very angry daggers.

Gamzee Makara [GAMZEE] joined chat.

GAMZEE: Gamzee was still on edge even as the other backed down. He really didn't trust him after that arm lock, and then looking like he was about to break his face for all that he was worth. But, it looked like the other human had calmed him down somewhat, so Gamzee allowed himself to relax just a little, before he placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder as he equiped his sickles and looked like he was just about ready to gut the human who assaulted him. "It's okay best friend." He didn't need Karkat to defend him as he could probably snap the human like a twig without much effort, but he wasn't going to say that. He appreciated the fact that Karkat seemed to be so eager to protect him.

Jade: She huffed and growled a bit under his weight until she was able to get him to stand on his own. There were quite a few things she wanted to say to him for lashing out like that without thinking, but of course when she needed them most her words failed her yet again. Instead Jade simply looked to him, still obviously pretty peeved, and deliberately turned away to step toward the other two. "I'm really sorry about that," she apologized, lacing her fingers together behind her back to show she wasn't going to make any move to take out her weapon or anything. To Karkat, she said, "Please put those away?" and seemed a bit tired though she tried her best to offer him up a pleasant smile. "If he acts up again, you're more than welcome to beat him up as long as you save a piece for me too! Though for right now..." She paused, tilting her head toward the things they had put down earlier. "What's with the cat food?"

Karkat: Karkat leered at Kurloz suspiciously, not nearly trusting him in the slightest... but he trusted Gamzee, and he trusted Jade. So however reluctant he was, he did put the sickles back into his sylladex, scowling instead as he moved to pick up the two bags of cat food and cat litter. Huff. "Gamzee tried to abduct a cat and it ran away so now we're going to buy one, we were getting the supplies first. But... This is your earth? Seriously?" he sounded pretty disbelieving but, he doubted there was any reason for Jade to go to an alternate universe or even be in one, especially when she hadn't believed in them at first. he still wasn't really comfortable talking in front of Kurloz so casually like this though.

Kurloz: Kurloz's glaring relaxed, his eyes falling away from Gamzee to stare at the ground as he looked utterly dejected. Once Jade pulled away (he knew she wouldn't be afraid to give him a talking to later if he words ceased failing her, and he was not looking forward to that possibility) he just kind of sank onto the ground, settling on his bony ass with his knees bent and arms slung across them. He looked pretty defeated, though once Karkat's explanation about the runaway cat came up... Well, yeah. Kurloz took note. He started, looking between them bewildered before jumping up to his feet, taking a step forward and pointing between all of them before his hands came up in front of him, his fingers clacking at an invisible keyboard as he tried to put the pieces together completely if they understood his query. Karkat had told him to ask Jade, and now Jade was greeting him as though she knew him-- could it really be /those/ assholes?

GAMZEE: Gamzee looked at Jade, then Karkat, then Kurloz with a look of pure confusion. Okay so this really was the human Karkat took to Alternia. Shit, that was nothing short of miraculous how they somehow ended up in the same universe as her! Maybe that was a good thing! Having someone that knew about what they really were would give them a little more freedom to be themselves. So Gamzee couldn't help but to grinat her as she asked about the cat stuff. "Yeaaaah sis. Best friend's all showing his kindness at me by helpin' me all get a new meowbeast what to keep," he says, before he looks at Kurloz. He was making a lot of weird hand motions. Now, Gamzee knew some sign language because he worked closely with the Kurloz of his timeline (far, far too closely). But what he was doing didn't look much like sign language as it looked like him just trying to get a message through to them. But even so, it didn't take a genius to get what Kurloz was asking them. "No motherfucker, we ain't got no husktops with us. We got cat stuff, ain't you able what to see it?" Seriously Kurloz. Get with the program.

Jade: "Yeah! Or at least, I think so," Jade admitted, not actually quite sure where she was anymore. Maybe they had passed through some window in time and space without realizing it and ended up in another universe. Or maybe Karkat and Gamzee woke up and pressed the wrong coordinates to wherever they were heading out to if they even went near a transportalizer today. Oh well. They'd figure that out later. To Gamzee, Jade smiled asked, "That sounds like fun! Have you decided what kind of cat you're going to get yet? We can help you carry some stuff back to your place if you want!" It was really the least they could do, or Kurloz could do, she thought, looking back at her friend just as he began to motion between them. She giggled at Gamzee's response. "Yeah, I was going to tell you that time I went over to give you your Valentine's Day gifts, but it must have slipped my mind. They're my friends. That's how we met and though their stories sound completely crazy, they're surprisingly true! I saw it all myself," she explained, motioning to his fingers tapping away at an invisible keyboard. "Kurloz, Karkat. Karkat, Kurloz. Kurloz, Gamzee. Gamzee, Kurloz." Introductions.

Karkat: Karkat just frowned and stared for a moment, not quite sure was Kurloz was getting at. The one he was closer acquainted with just went ahead and used his voodoos so there wasn't often a need for miming things out. So he just... stared, yeah, but thankfully Jade seemed to get it where him and Gamzee didn't. "Yeah, uh, hi," Wow, this was so awkward, "I don't think we really need help, at least, after that, i don't think Kurloz would be too thrilled to hang around us right now." Karkat also didn't really want to trust this douchebag with the location of his house but he didn't see any reason to say that just yet.

Kurloz: Thank god Jade was to the rescue, because Gamzee clearly didn't get it and... It was kind of cute. Okay, it was a lot cute, and it reminded Kurloz of his missing brother so much his expression went pensive while he shifted his attention over to Jade as she doled out the introductions. He nodded to either of them in turn, even though now as the pieces fell into place it was growing difficult to actually /look/ at the doppelganger of his brother. At least now his phone came out so he could talk, but it was Jade he relayed the messages too. [IF YOU AIN'T MIND OFFERING THESE MOTHER FUCKERS A HAND HELPING, I AIN'T MIND NEITHER.] He hesitated, before adding a second part of the message. [THAT HOMIE LOOKS JUST LIKE MY BROTHER AND I AIN'T GET WHY THAT'S BEING AN UNHOLY MOTHER FUCKING THING RIGHT NOW.] His eyes darted to Jade's face, both eyebrows raising in vain hope that perhaps she would have an explanation for that, especially if they were apparently aliens.

GAMZEE: Gamzee decided he really liked Jade. He was grinning in a goofy manner as Jade asked him questions about what cat he was planning to get, and even offered to help them. As the introductions came, and all doubt of who the people before him were, Gamzee leaned down to pick the cat food and litter he had dropped at Kurloz's assault. "I ain't got a clue what type of meowbeast I'll be all up and getting. But I guess I'll find out when I get there, yeah? I'll know which one is all meant to be what pet I'm meant to have once I see it," he told her, before he looked at Karkat. He didn't think he minded them coming along and helping. Kurloz didn't look like he would hurt them, and really if he tried, he could easily stop him. And Jade was really nice. He wouldn't mind hanging out more often with Jade.

Jade: It was easy to forget that Kurloz was mute sometimes and maybe that was something that needed to be said up front but it slipped her mind a lot expecially after already getting used to it for such a long time now. She read through his messages and held up a finger, looking up at him plainly before glancing over at the other two with a smile. "I think that's the best way to pick out a pet!! You have to feel comfortable with it and it has to feel comfortable with you and you really don't know which pet will do that for you until you meet them and play around with them a little bit!" Basic pet picking out 101. If Gamzee knew that much, Jade was sure he'd be a wonderful pet owner! He seemed to have his heart in the right place, anyway. To Karkat, Jade replied, "Kurloz says he doesn't mind helping out at all! He won't be any more trouble, promise!!" She felt like she was making a plea for keeping a puppy around right now. "Also, this is still a little weird for me so what's up with your human disguises?" she asked a bit skeptically. She clarified, motioning between Gamzee and Kurloz. "Did Gamzee decide to look a lot like Kurloz when he chose his disguise or is this some kind of alternate thing I don't entirely understand yet?"

Karkat: Karkat still wasn't to sure about the whole situation, but he guessed he could let it slide. It was kinda shitty of him to instantly judge Kurloz just based on a few kind of crappy meetings anyway. People did that to him and he hated it and he'd like to avoid being hypocritical if he could. "Sure, fine, you guys can come with. And, I guess I don't really know? I mean, we didn't pick out what we'd look like at all, I just thought it was reprogrammed in. Really all it does is change our skin tone, make our horns invisible, and hide our fangs and eyes. Gamzee's body type isn't modified in any way and neither is mine. I mean, you wave your hand right over his head and you'll probably hit his horns even if you can't see them right now," he just shrugged, shuffling a bit awkwardly with his own bags in hand, "I kind of guessed that Gamzee would probably look like his human alternates, just like I look like my human alternates. As in I kind of guessed that right now after I got over the shock of him rushing us," And here, he just pointed a finger at Kurloz.

Jade: Karkat don't point that's rude.

GAMZEE: Gamzee had spaced out mid-explanation and was now staring at some lit up sign at the record store across the street.

GAMZEE: They're Open.

Karkat: No.

GAMZEE: :o(

GAMZEE: But best friend.

Kurloz: Kurloz didn't seem to sure about that answer, skipping over the stuff about pets because he really wasn't qualified to own an animal, as he stared between Karkat and Gamzee with his arms crossed. He had no choice but to believe-- or at least, start believing, but he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw the horns and skin for himself. Regardless his gaze kept slipping back over to Gamzee, and while Jade was right and Kurloz wasn't going to attack anymore, he still seemed wary and overly stiff.

GAMZEE: Gamzee stared at the record store a bit longer, until he felt Kurloz's gaze on him. He looked at him, and remained silent as he blinked a few times. "Uh... shit. Got my zone on all proper like right then. Sorry," he commented before gazing over to Karkat and Jade. The human female had mentioned something about him finding the right pet. The idea of getting to play with a bunch of kittens did seem incredibly appealing, so he just smiled at her. "Well if you motherfuckers ain't minding what to tag along then, we should all get going," he told them, looking down at Karkat. Really, he had missed most of the discussion about their human appearances. "Lead the way best friend. I ain't got no certainties as to where the motherfuck we're all to be headed."

Jade: The space above Gamzee's head looked pretty normal to her. Maybe she could catch either of them off guard and touch their horns at some point on this little adventure. She moved over to take something off Karkat's hands if he'd allow her. She was small but pretty strong for a girl her size! "That makes sense though. Weird." She paused, waiting for them to lead the way. "I wonder what I'd look like a troll..."

Karkat: Karkat was still not too sure this was a good idea, but oh well, he just nodded to everyone, before letting Jade take one of the bags. She didn't really have to, he could carry both just fine. But hey, he wasn't gonna argue with her, she was pretty headstrong and if she wanted to carry that bag she'd likely fight him over it and it was a dumb thing to fight over that would last forever and all they came outside to do was get a damn cat. Following that, he began to lead the way to the apartment building, luckily it wasn't too far away. "I read online to not buy from pet stores because they don't control the breeding so the animals are usually really sick and have bad genetics, so I looked up some local houses that had kitten litters that were ready to take home. We're going to get one, and only one, from only one house," That last part was mainly aimed at Gamzee. Just one kitten, no more.

GAMZEE: Karkat you know Gamzee won't be able to resist if the kitties all look at him with those adorable big eyes.

Karkat: Karkat's very firm on only one kitten.

Kurloz: If Gamzee was holding anything, you better believe Kurloz had moved forward to copy Jade, attempting to take some of the supplies from him to carry them himself, his gaze still hard upon the other as though scrutinizing him or trying to stare him inside out. It was uncanny being so close to his brother's face, even though he knew it wasn't his brother at mother fucking all. That didn't make Kurloz want to touch him any less, and if Gamzee did offer something up for Kurloz to hold, you better believe he went out of the way to make sure his fingers brushed the disguised troll's hand.

Karkat: Careful Kurloz, your pathetic is showing.

Kurloz: I DON'T NEED YOUR SASS.

GAMZEE: Gamzee was probably going to have a very hard time choosing kittens. So many cute kittens staring at you with those big eyes...? It was going to be hard. In any case since the human wanted to help, Gamzee wasn't going to stop him. He smiled at the other before passing him the kitty litter. He felt the other's fingers brush against his hand, but he really made no reaction toward that. "Aw, thanks motherfucker. You really don't gotta," he says. But hey. Now he had a free hand to scratch at his butt. Look at that hot piece of ass.

Kurloz: :o|

GAMZEE: :o)

Karkat: "Gamzee if you're going to pick at your ass I'm not going to let you touch any kittens."

GAMZEE: "Oh... hahaha. Sorry best friend." Hand moves away from his butt. There. No more scratching.

Jade: "That's probably some good advice! You can also try out an animal shelter too!!" Did he know what an animal shelter was? Well, he had the internet, surely he'd found out by now. She shouldered the bag quite easily as they moved along.

Kurloz: Kurloz's face was heating up, but he followed along, holding the burdens he captured from Gamzee and walking by Jade's side. He couldn't really stand to watch Gamzee (they were so similar!) so instead he stared at Jade. Staaaaare. You know he is going to give you the full interrogation later, Jade.

Karkat: "What the hell is an animal shelter?" Too bad they didn't have much time to answer that question, because the apartment building was reached and stairs were climbed and eventually they were standing outside of the apartment door, waiting for someone to answer as he knocked and, sure enough! A woman answered the door, her stomach bulging large and outwards with child, and a nice smile on her face. "Yes?" "Uh yeah, me and Gamzee heard about you giving away kittens, do you have any left?" She had to think about it for a moment, as if she wasn't too sure of the number of cats in her home, while Karkat tried really hard to not stare in horror at her weirdly distended stomach. Human anatomy is fucking insane. What is wrong with her body?? "Oh, yes, we have two left. Let me go get them!" And with that, she left the door momentarily, leaving the four standing there alone, at which point, Karkat just kind of glanced at the floor oddly, before stage whispering, "Why was her stomach so huge?"

GAMZEE: Gamzee followed, really quite eager about the whole thing as they went to the apartment that had the kittens that waited to be given new homes. Once they got there, and the door was opened to reveal a human female with a large belly, Gamzee wasn't very discrete about staring. His eyes widened and he just whispered a soft 'Whoaaaaaaaa' as he stood there with an amazed look on his face. He wasn't as quiet once she left though. "Did you see that? Her protein sack is like shades motherfuckin swollen! It's like she swallowed a full motherfuckin matriorb without chewing it through or nothing!" Discretion? What is that?

Jade: At the price of a full lecture? Sure, she'd be willing to have that trade. She looked between him and Gamzee, quirking a brow at Kurloz. Had the butt scratching embarrassed him? Cute. Jade smirked and then stuck out her tongue at him. She didn't seem so mad about his earlier antics anymore but she wasn't about to give in easily either. Once they reached the house where they'd see the kittens apparently, Jade waited patiently to see how Karkat and Gamzee would handle speaking to other humans. Karkat did well but she couldn't help but burst out in a small fit of giggles when both he and Gamzee commented on the woman's stomach. "Pfffbbt!!! Hehehehe!!" she laughed, shaking her head and motioning for Gamzee to keep his voice down. "There's nothing wrong with her stomach, she's pregnant! It means she's growing a tiny baby human inside her belly and unless you want her hormones to kick in and kick your butts you both better not offend her for it!"

Kurloz: Upon having a tongue stuck out at him, Kurloz rolled his eyes but knew better than to try and return the gesture because that would just look dumb. Now is not the time for lack-of-tongue shenanigans! Once they arrived Kurloz stood back with his items in hand, staring flatly as Gamzee and Karkat both expressed confusion at the pregnant lady. Did they really not do any research before settling on a strange planet? He exchanged a look with Jade, or at least, tried to, his expression a mixture of disbelief and rather cruel amusement.

Karkat: "I knew your weird human species splattered out their own wigglers from their nooks but I didn't think it'd be so..." Hmm, what was a nice word for this? "Deforming..." Nailed it. But hey, Karkat shut up the second the woman came back, holding two kittens in hand. "Here they are, both girls, feel free to spend a bit of time with them while you decide!" And here, Karkat just stepped back, letting Gamzee have the chance to move forward and take them from the lady.

GAMZEE: "MOTHER /FUCK/! She's growin' a whole motherfuckin' human inside of her /stomach/? /WHY/?" Gamzee's eyes were wide like saucers. "Why is she doing that? Is it gonna all explode outta her? How is it even gonna all come out? Is she gonna get dead? How did it even all get there in the first place? Did she eat it?" Gamzee had a lot of questions. Of course, he stopped talking an forgot all about it when she saw the lady return with the kittens. Gamzee dropped the cat food on the floor and moved forward, staring at both cats, looking at them carefully. One was black and white, kind of like Candy Apple, except this one had more black in it, while the other was white with some dark brownish splotches here and there. They were both so cute. And they were both meowing. Oh shit. Too cute. He grabbed both of them and just kind of sat down on the floor (despite being in the middle of a hallway, and placed the cats on his lap. They immediatelly began to sniff him and climb along his legs with their cute, clumsy movements. ".... Shit."

Jade: The look and every other comment was ignored in favor of the two kittens brough out by the lovely pregnant woman. Jade squealed. "They're sooo cuuuuute!!!" Oh, but this was Gamzee's thing, right? She refrained from going up to the dear sweet precious kittens to give Gamzee some playing room. The look in her eyes said she was debating taking the one he didn't choose home though. And she already had that tinkerbull to take care of back at the dorms. Quick Kurloz, stop her from taking a bigger risk at being discovered by school administration.

GAMZEE: Jade might not have any cat to take home. Gamzee might just take them both. Look at them Karkat.

Karkat: No.

Karkat: Only one.

GAMZEE: :o(

Kurloz: Kurloz resisted the urge to pat Gamzee on the head. It was a difficult urge, but hey, if they were gonna be here for a while he decided he could at least join Jade in checking out the furbags. With the limited room of the hallway he went behind Gamzee, intending to lean over him to get a look at-- THWACK. There was nothing there, but Kurloz still just slammed his head into it and man is he not happy about that, what the fuck? He looked a little dazed, stumbling back in surprise until he ended up falling onto his ass.

Karkat: Karkat just watched Gamzee toy with the cats, and then Jade fawn over them. He didn't really see what was so fun about cats. Probably because he tried to adopt a furbeast of some kind when he was much, much younger and... crabdad kind of ate it, in a very gruesome fashion. You lose the want for pets rapidly when you see them slaughtered all over your hive. Though when Kurloz just smacked his head, Karkat rolled his eyes. "I just said like ten minutes ago that if you waved your hands over Gamzee's head you'd probably feel his horns." The pregnant woman just kind of blinks oddly at that, but seems to ignore it. Silly kids and their imagination games.

GAMZEE: "HONK!" Gamzee was startled as something suddenly smacked him in the horns. His hands quickly released the cats and went up to touch them just to make sure they were there. It hadn't hurt, but it had been somewhat bothersome. He threw a look over his shoulder to stare at Kurloz as he had ended up falling on his ass. "Shit motherfucker, you aight?" he asked him. Seriously he could've poked his eye out with one of his horns. Consider yourself lucky Kurloz.

Jade: At first, Jade was confused too. But then Karkat clarified and she pretended like she knew that all along. Yup. Nothing to see here folks! She just sat down next to where Karkat was standing and watched the other two move around with the kittens climbing all over them. So cute. She still wants to take one home.

Karkat: One of the kittens is trying to climb up the front of Gamzee's shirt, look at it go.

GAMZEE: Excited honking!

Kurloz: Kurloz waved Gamzee off, his pride hurt more than his head. Bumping into something that was /truly invisible/ had caught him by surprise to such a degree he even lost his balance. After rubbing his forehead gingerly he settled on just settling in to sit against the wall of the hall just behind Gamzee, going into sulk mode. Jade is going to have one hell of a grumpy mime to deal with once they got back to his place.

GAMZEE: "Look, look best friend! The motherfucker's all wanting what to climb up on me," Gamzee said. He was very excited over this. Yes, this was definitely the one he was taking home. He returned the other Kitten to the human before standing up, holding onto the small, furry creature he was taking home very protectively. It was the black and white one. "Okay I want this one!"

Karkat: Karkat was thinking about asking the mime if he was okay, but he looked like he was embarrassed more than anything else. So he just kinda, let it drop for now, giving Kurloz a look as Gamzee picked the kitten he wanted. Thank god, Karkat did not want to wander around town all day looking at tiny poop machines. "Fantastic, uh, these are free right?" When he was answered with a nod, he just moved over towards Gamzee, nudging the cat carrier at him. Put the cat in the cage Gamzee.

Jade: Jade moved over to pick up the other cat and keep it out of harms way now that Gamzee had made his decision and boy was that was that a bad move on her end. It was purring in her hands, should could feel the little thing's chest rumbling against her fingers. "Oh noooo...," she whined, her expression growing sad. She had to hand the kitten back now, she knew it, the lady was expecting that but, but!!

Karkat: "What the hell is with you two and cats?"

GAMZEE: He feels you Jade. He feels you.

Jade: It wasn't the cats, cats were actually Jade's least favorite animal. It was that it was a KITTEN and it was purring in her hands!! Someone take it away from her.

Kurloz: Kurloz watched Jade struggle with the cat, raising a brow. Since she was staying over for a while, if she took the cat it would be staying at Kurloz's house with them. The mime didn't mind, and he wouldn't actually kill the cat. Doing bad things to animals was so second grade. He shrugged at her than made a vague kind of “go-ahead” gesture, even though it was really up to Jade if she wanted the responsibility.

GAMZEE: Gamzee obeyed without a word, placing the cat inside the cage. Karkat was getting him a cat, so it was best if he was agreeable with him to show him gratitude. Once that was done, Gamzee smiled and then just manuevered himself past the cage just to wrap his arms around Karkat in a firm, affectionate hug. "Thank you so much, best friend!" Hugs are good ways to show gratitude right? Though it was probably best if Gamzee wasn't lifting Karkat off the ground effortlesly with the tight hug.

Karkat: Right, he was being hugged, sigh. Karkat just dealt with this, awkwardly patting Gamzee's back from the weird position he was trapped in, his arms mostly at his sides so he just kind of tapped Gamzee's stomach instead since he couldn't reach his back. "Yeah, we can save this for when we get the cat's things actually set up, what are we going to call it besides 'cat'?" Though, the woman seemed glad that they were close to leaving, she was probably a bit weirded out, and preparing herself to close the door pretty soon.

Kurloz: Kurloz watched the hug, frowning a little more. Watching the ghost of his brother hug someone else so affectionately made him want to /punch/ one of those fucking kittens.

Karkat: Kurloz no. That is not what you do to kittens.

GAMZEE: That's a good idea. What would he call the new meowbeast? With a pondering expression, he released Karkat, placing him gently on the ground, before he looked at the cage that contained the cat. He glanced over to Jade, who seemed to be having a hard time with the kitty, before he just shrugged. "Shit man, I ain't sure. I'm between Moon Mist and Black Cherry." Yeah. He named cats after Faygo flavors.

Kurloz: :o|

Jade: The lady snatched the kitten away from Jade and Jade sighed, looking a bit disgruntled. Yeah, it was probably time to go anyway. She picked up what she was carrying and headed for the door.

Karkat: Karkat just squirmed away from Gamzee now, frowning a bit as the kitten was snatched from Jade and the woman retreated inside. Away from the weirdo group of two aliens and two confused humans. Poor stomach lady. But hey, they had their stupid cat now and Karkat was ready to head back home. "Right, are you two going to come with us back to our house? I guess you can just use the transportalizer we got there to head back wherever the hell you live if you want."

GAMZEE: He picked up the cage, as well as the cat food before following Jade. He wasn't sure on the name yet. "Red Pop is good too..." he mumbled to himself. "Maybe I oughta be seeing what the meowbeast likes the most---whoa Jazzin' Blues Berry! I like that one." Someone stop him before he names his cat something ridiculous like Ohana Strawberry Banana.

Karkat: "Gamzee you are not naming that cat after faygo."

GAMZEE: "Why not?"

GAMZEE: "I named Candy Apple after motherfucking faygo."

Karkat: "Gamzee, you are not naming that fucking cat after faygo."

GAMZEE: "But Jazzin' Blues Berry is a cool name!" He looks back to Kurloz. "Ain't it, motherfucker?"

Jade: "Karkat, it's his cat, let him name it whatever he wants," Jade chimed in, openning the door so they could all high tail it out of there. "Might as well follow you home."

Kurloz: Kurloz wasn't sure why Jade denied the cat when she so clearly wanted it, but he wasn't exactly the best person to ask about self restraint. The conversation between Karkat and Gamzee was rather distracting so he didn't bring it up. [FAILING TO SEE THE MOTHER FUCKING ISSUE IN THAT BROTHER'S NAMING SCHEME.] Kurloz was standing and next to Karkat now, phone held out for him to read. Kurloz, no, that isn't your brother. Don't be creepy.

Karkat: "Ugh, fine, name it whatever the fuck you want," He still thought it was a shitty name, but he was moving on out the door now, ready to lead the way back to his and Gamzee's hive, turning to look at Jade and Kurloz as he did so. "So, kind of weird we ended up on your earth of all places."

GAMZEE: Gamzee smiled at Jade. Okay, he REALLY liked Jade. He would've appreciated Kurloz's words had he seen them as well. "Aight then! Now that I get what to be thinking about it... Moon Mist and Black Cherry do too because of her motherfucking fur... but I'm thinkin' Moon Mist is cuter," Okay so he was talking to no one in particular, and probably no one was listening as he followed the group back to their hive, but he was just really excited about his cat okay.

Jade: Jade had been secretly hoping for Moon Mist. Aww yeah. "Do you have a phone? Or Pesterchum?" Jade asked Karkat, lowering her voice a bit as she shifted the things she carried onto her shoulder. "We need to have a little chat about that whole staying on the same Earth thing later."

Kurloz: Kurloz just returned to being sulky, once more sticking to Jade's side like some kind of parasite. He did quirk a brow as she spoke of talking in private to Karkat, and he nudged her shoulder gently, as though curious why such a private discussion needed to take place.

Karkat: "Uh, yeah, my pesterchum is the same thing as my tumblr, but I guess I can give you my phone number too, I'm not to used to my new palmhusk though," And here, he quickly transferred his number over to Jade by offering her his phone... With it's stupid fucking crab case. Shut up, it's cute and he adores this present.

GAMZEE: "... But man Ohana Strawberry Banana has such a motherfuckin' catchy wording. But I ain't thinking it's fitting none," Yeah, he was still going on about names. Ignore him.

Jade: She took his phone and sent herself a text from it reading <karkat likes crabs but i think he needs a little puppy charm for his phone!! :)>. You'd hand it back to him just as the message sent, letting him save the contact under whatever name he wanted. She'd read the message later and remind herself to get him a puppy charm for next time she saw him. To Kurloz, Jade shrugged before nudging him back with a smile as though to say don't worry about it.

Karkat: Karkat just listed his name down in Jade's phone for his contact information, before taking his own back and shoving it into his pocket once more. For some reason, he kind of felt like he was in some measure of trouble, which was dumb because he had no real control over the situation that landed him here at all. But in any case, they were definitely heading to one of the nicer neighborhoods in town, the place where a lot of rich people's houses sat actually. "So what were YOU two doing before you ran into us?" He's ignoring Gamzee's dumb names.

Kurloz: Kurloz seemed a bit wary about that, frowning to himself and stuffing his hands in his pockets as it was clear he wouldn't get a response from Jade right now. He didn't think she would do something like tell them not to get involved with him... Or at least, he hoped not. Not that he was entirely sure why this thought bothered him in the first place. Ugh.

GAMZEE: Gamzee was still babbling on about names by the time they got to their neighborhood, and it wasn't until they got to their new human home that he finally decided to settle for Moon Mist. He wasn't really listening to the conversation going on at all, as he merely watched them speak. He was waiting for Karkat to open the front door as he had his hands full of cat food and kitty cat in a cage.

Jade: Oh, she was kind of hoping Kurloz would answer that. Didn't look like he was too happy all of a sudden. "Harrassing pigeons...," she muttered, embarrassed. It was fun! Up until the pigeon flew away. Once they arrived at the house where the two aliens were staying at, she gave a low whistle. "Gosh, that's a fancy place you've got! Those people that set you up really did set you up with some quality stuff!!" How had she not noticed how nice his house was last time she was here? It was probably harder to tell from the inside.

Kurloz: Nope, Kurloz isn't answering shit right now. He's just staring at Gamzee as they walk. Why the hell couldn't it have been his actual brother?

Karkat: The house was indeed pretty damned fancy, but actually, it did have some structural differences from the houses around it. Shaped in a more tower fashion, as was more custom with troll homes. The fences that separated the soft lawn from the streets and sidewalk adorned in such a way with cancer symbols that it appeared almost inconspicuous. It wasn't until a few days after he moved in that he'd found out the house had actually been used as a safe place for resistance trolls needing to hide out for a very long time. One of the elders had it built a lot time ago and had a false image as a human whom had entirely paid it off, and lent it out to whomever needed it, so that was pretty neat, all in all, and explained the heavy, almost religious tone that came with the building's smooth stone walls and strange, sneaked in religious symbology. But unlike most places, which felt so formal and stiff to Karkat, it actually felt kinda safe and comfortable to him. So he liked the house, overall, and easily unlocked the front gate so they could head inside, and then the front door. "Yeah, apparently the cult that kinda rules my life has been using this place for years and years. They've tried to influence humanity as little as possible from what they've told me but I also strongly suspect them to spread their stupid love everyone bullshit."

GAMZEE: Gamzee head into the house, making it to the front door. Immediately, he placed the cat food aside and leaned down to take the cat out of the cage. It was purring in his hands and Gamzee was smiling like an idiot. He wasted no time in taking off the cloaking device--he figured that if Jade new, and she had told Kurloz they didn't have to hide their skins anymore, right?--revealing his true, gray skin, sharp teeth and claws, and tall horns. Despite how dangerous he might look, the fact that he was holding a purring kitten, and he seemed to be very happy about such made him appear to be anything but. There was nothing intimidating about him, really. The Highblood collapsed onto the couch and let the cat walk along his chest. The clown is so happy right now.

Jade: She smiled as Gamzee seemed comfortable enough to drop the disguise. Was it weird that he looked better as an alien? Maybe a little weird. She turned to Karkat, nodding. "Have you talked to Kurloz about all of that yet? I think you guys should spend some time talking about everything because it's obvious he's still a little new to all of this. I mean I'll explain what I can in my own time, but..." But she really wanted there to be more trust between Karkat and Kurloz than what had happened back there on the sidewalk.

Kurloz: Trust was highly unlikely anytime soon, and Kurloz himself was frowning as he watched Gamzee. To see him as he actually was did bring him some small modicum of comfort. There was no way that it was his brother, and any lingering doubt was quickly wiped away as he considered the horned creature soberly. Yeah, he should have known life wouldn't work out as easily as that... and he was kind of done with this also. He glanced back at Jade, shaking his head and pointing towards the door before offering a wave. He was trying to make it clear to her that he was heading home and that he'd be there once she was done. He just wasn't feeling up to this farce anymore.

Karkat: "Well I kind of only really told either of you on tumblr because I didn't think either of you were actually on this planet to be honest," MIGHT AS WELL BE STRAIGHT UP ABOUT THAT. "On tumblr, no one can track me because whatever weird universal anomaly allows people to connect through millions of universes, also manages to hide me pretty effectively. I thought that I wasn't blowing my cover at all because you guys were off on some random earth that didn't really matter," But Karkat paused here, watching as Gamzee removed his cloaking device, before just doing his own. Sigh. He slipped his jacket off first, hanging it up near the door before leading the way towards the living room, almost not bothering to flick a light on as he entered. He also deactivated his own cloaking device, and honestly? He didn't look all that different. His horns were much, much shorter than Gamzee's, barely peeking up out of that mane of black hair, curling and waving in exactly the same directions it did in his human disguise. His teeth weren't all that sharp either, kinda worn down into something a lot flatter due to his bad habits with grinding his teeth. But his skin was just as grey as Gamzee's, his sclera just as yellow, but his own irises a flaming red. Though, when Kurloz made way to leave, Karkat made no attempt to stop him. Sorry Jade, it's kinda weird, and awkward. And probably horribly uncomfortable to the skeletal human.

GAMZEE: Gamzee didn't notice the mime's discomfort, nor anything really. He was too engulfed at feeling the cat kneading at his shirt, before curling on itself and purring. She's taking a real liking to Gamzee, and so has Gamzee to Moon Mist. He might just fall asleep in the couch with her too, and might just end up purring himself. Despite everything, all the scares and what not, this had definitely been a good day. As he shifted, he noticed that Kurloz was about to leave. He's really pretty much the nicest Kurloz he's ever met, so he really had no hard feelings at him. Maybe Karkat was right and not all his alternates were awful, terrible people. "Oh, aight. Later motherfucker," he says. He still has no idea that he's the Kurloz from the blogs, however. No one bothered to inform him... or more like he just hasn't been paying attention at all. "Nice to be meeting you and all that."

Gamzee Makara's connection timed out. Please don't quit straight away; they could be back.

Kurloz: Kurloz does not reply and just PEACES THE FUCK OUT, his shoulders hunched, head bowed and hands dug into his pockets. Jade will have a handful later.

Jade: 'Stay with me,' she wanted to say, 'We can get back faster if we go through their transportalizer.' But what would be the point? What good would that do? She knew he wouldn't want to no matter how she asked. He probably wanted some time to be on his own anyway and though she was worried he might just get himself into more trouble, Jade looked to him with sadness in her eyes and simply waved back until he was gone. Yeah, she might just text him later saying she was going straight home from here. We'll see. Once he was gone, Jade sighed and turned back to Karkat, the worry still showing on her face. "Great. That sounds great." What sounded great? She didn't know she wasn't listening. She moved to sit in the living room after putting the things she was carrying down by the door. "So um... I wanted to say sorry for Kurloz again and... Jeez, there was something else but I forgot!" She paused a moment to gather her thoughts. "Oh yeah! About that thing you were running from. I wanted to make sure that they're not going to come looking for you here and causing the people on this Earth trouble because you're here."

Karkat: Karkat just shook his head. "It's fine, I kinda understand, I mean, I kind of had a similar thing happen to me once, seeing the thing that raised me raising someone else, and loving them instead and not really being what I'd thought it was and just the huge disappointment following that. And if we do get found out, I have a plan for that, we usually have an early warning system of sorts," He just shrugged, "The reason we came here was because it was a hiding place that's never been discovered, only one person on alternia now knows the coordinates here, and they'll die before they out me. So I guess now the only people who could reveal my location are me, Gamzee, you, and maybe Kurloz," he was frowning, crossing his arms over his chest with a harsh look on his face. "I'll make sure that no one gets hurt while we're here, promise."

Jade: "Okay," she replied, not all too phased by his expression. "Tell me about what you're running from again and why?" she asked them both. If he had told her before, she didn't remember, probably due to the whole not believing he was an alien thing. All she really remembered was that someone wanted to hurt one of the aliens and the other one had stood up for them and so someone or something was upset and now they were hiding.

Karkat: "..." There was a moment of silence here, before Karkat just sighed, and began, "It's kind of a long story. Uhm, the place me and Gamzee come from, it's not really any kind of pleasant place by any means. Like I mean eating wigglers, which are infants of our own race, is kind of normal, and the social spectrum is sorted out by the hemospectrum, basically, lower blooded trolls, who are warmer blooded, tend to be on the lower end, treated as slaves and servants and basic soldiers, or just culling slates and paint cans for high bloods. Anywhere from maroon to around green or teal. Teal to tyrian color is high blood territory, high bloods have longer life spans, crazy ass strength and speed, and much, much more dangerous lusii than lowblooded trolls do. They control the way our life works. They're the politicians, the warriors, the people who don't just become mindless faces to the slaughter. It's... really strict, anyone born outside the spectrum is slaughtered. My ancestor, he was the only other troll aside from me to have bright red blood, right between the highest and the lowest blood color. He led this giant revolution and a cult ended up forming under him secretly moving towards free rights for all trolls instead of this bleak as fuck social system we live in now. He got killed, publicly executed by Gamzee's ancestor, actually, who is still alive, because gamzee's cast as a purple blooded troll means he can literally live for thousands of years naturally."

Karkat: "But, anyway, they kinda knew another redblood was going to come around, the cult was waiting for me, the empire was waiting for me. So thanks to the fucked social system we live in, and thanks to the fact that my ancestor decided to speak out against all of this shit, I have kind of been slated to be murdered ever since I was hatched, hell, even before then. The only reason I've lived this long is because the cult found me first and was trying to help me live a normal life, so that I'd understand what other trolls go through. But I got found out and yeah, that's kinda led me through a series of long events here. I've never NOT been on the run. Gamzee is only here because he kind of saved my ass and completely betrayed everything he believes in just to do so. And because of that, he's now a traitor to the throne, and he's slated to die alongside me."

Karkat: "That's the start of the whole story I don't think I need to tell you much more than that."

Jade: Right. It was starting to come back to her now. "That's fine. That's what brought you here and that's all I need to know." It may have been a side effect of hanging out with Kurloz for so long but for some reason, despite knowing Karkat was running for his life, Jade didn't care enough to press him further. Sure that partly had to do with the fact that she didn't want to dredge up bad memories for him but she also just didn't want to get involved. She didn't want Kurloz to get involved. Though she knew he would keep their secret one way or another, she wasn't sure how good it would be for him to get too attached to these two, Gamzee especially. But whatever, she wasn't his babysitter. "So is this a permanent move then or are you two waiting for things to simmer down a bit before you head back to Alternia?"

Karkat: "To be honest, probably not permanent, but I also don't know for how long we'll be here, it could just be a few more weeks, it could be sweeps until we're both fully grown. I know the cult always wanted me to lead them when I got old enough, right now I'm just kind of a figurehead," He... wasn't really sure how he felt about it, but they were pressing him lately to sit in on meetings and start to learn how things were working. On a decent level of it, he did understand the way the cult operated, but not on a deeper level like they wanted him to start knowing about. He'd have to take over someday. "I mean, me and Gamzee are only eight, so... yeah."

Jade: She quirked a brow at that, crossing her arms in front of her. "You're not eight," she replied as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.

Karkat: "No, we both are, actually, Uh, I don't think troll sweeps match up with human years though."

Karkat: ...

Karkat: "I have no idea how old you are."

Jade: ... She blinked. "I have no idea how old I am either, but that wasn't the point! How old are you in human years?"

Karkat: Karkat had to take a moment to think there, "Fuck, I think they told us that one troll sweep is about two earth years or so. It's some stupid calculation that I don't really care about because I don't plan on living the rest of my likely short life on this dirt hole, no offense, Alternia was kind of a bigger shit hole but I might actually be able to make it less of a shit hole if I can take command of the cult and get them to be proactive for once instead of forever dawdling in silent prayer. But aside from that, I guess that makes me around sixteen or something in human years."

Jade: "I'm older than you, that's for sure!" She teased with a small smirk, the first thing resembling a smile crossing her face since Kurloz had left. Apparently she was enjoying Karkat's company as easily as she had been the last two times they had met in person. There were still so many questions she wanted to ask him, about the cult and what sort of things he'd do as leader and why he seemed hesitant about the entire ordeal if it meant changing his world for the better. But for now she simply nodded and took out her phone, taking her white dog charm from it and tossing it at Karkat while she stood up. "Keep that! Show me where the transportalizer is? I should probably head home now. Or at least make sure Kurloz made it home okay."

Karkat: Karkat caught the charm just barely, kind of flopping his hands around for a moment before managing to get a solid hold on it rather than bouncing it around trying not to let it drop to the floor, and he just looked at it oddly for a moment, before back up at Jade, his cheeks puffing up just a tad. "I don't need your dumb woofbeast charm, but fine, if you say so. And it's just down the hall actually. Uh, me and Gamzee don't really use the other like... four floors this place has, we just use this main one here mostly. So everything is on this floor." It's a very big house and Karkat's not sure what to do with so much space. If Alternian education for lowbloods wasn't such complete shit and most of his training with the cult being aimed towards leading a rebellion, Karkat might have been able to actually function somewhat coherently with a normal earth job. Maybe. Probably not. Alternian lowblood schooling was basically a shit ton of menial labor and lowbloods being screamed at to obey. "And... sorry for the Kurloz thing, again I guess. I'll see if they can change up Gamzee's human disguise if that makes it any easier."

Jade: She noted how his cheeks puffed and rolled her eyes though she was smiling at this point. Boys. At the mention of the transportalizer, she started heading toward it, only stopping to turn back when he started to apologize for Kurloz. She was about to tell him it wasn't his fault and that he shouldn't apologize (as hypocritical as that was) but then his suggestion caught her immediate attention. "Oh hey, there's an idea!" she replied, her eyes widening a tad with surprise. That was actually a good idea! Why hadn't she thought of that? "But you should probably let him decide if he wants to do that first. It's his disguise and all." Jade Harley being a good samaritan.

Karkat: "Yeah, I don't think Gamzee gives much of a shit, I'm not sure if they can or not because I don't really understand this shit, I'm not some psionic, so I don't know if they can, but I'll ask Gamzee and ask the people who made it. I'll also see if they can work in reverse and disguise humans as trolls so you can see yourself as a troll. It's kind of weird and trippy though."

Jade: That thought intruiged her. "What sort of horns do you think I'd have?" she asked, making a show by putting up her fingers by each side of her head with a small giggle. "Let me know what they say okay?"

Karkat: Karkat didn't answer that for a moment, just... looked down at the charm she threw at him for a moment, "Probably dog ear looking horns, and yeah, I'll let you know."

Jade: She grinned and laughed. He was probably right. Giving him one last wave, she turned and disappeared into the room with the transportalizer he had mentioned earlier and decided she'd head over to Kurloz's place after all. She was in a much better mood now. And if it turned out that he had destroyed his own place while she was away, she'd just lay him down on her lap with a smile and play a movie for them to watch as he calmed down.