Maid and Heir

also i cant do that its grown on me

i know all the lyrics by heart

i would like you to know that your moirail came over earlier and decided to listen to a single song

let me repeat

a single song

a single song of a melancholy flavor that sounds like its from the soundtrack to a movie with a lower budget than miss frizzles magic school bus field trips

which im still not convinced werent mass acid trips

on repeat

let me clarify

your moirail came over and played a single song of a melancholy flavor that sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack to the eventual knock off movie of the knock off movie of the knock off movie of fifty shades of grey (also a knock off) on repeat

while sprawled all over my body like a hapless marionette with broken strings

and he fell asleep

and i have not moved him nor have i made to wake him up or turn off his singular shitty song in the two hours he has been here

this

D0 YOU GUYS THINK IM MAD WHEN I ARGUE? I RARELY EVER AM

Dar swallows heavily, reaching over and gently pulling one of Blukat’s hands from his face. He brings it close, nuzzling the fingers and kissing the back of his hand. “B-Blukat…Lusus…It’s. It’s going to be okay…” he whispers softly, slowly looking up as if doing so mean’t looking up at the two voices.

After several minutes of gathering his composure and gathering his control he emerges again, scrubbing at his face with a slight sigh. He squeezes Dar’s hand and kisses Knight’s cheek, expressing gratitude to both of them for being so understanding. Sometimes it’s just nice to have his feelings validated. “Sorry, I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m just a little – I’ve had bad experiences with – never mind.” He doesn’t want to think about that right now. “Dar’s - very special to me, and I can be a bit protective of him. And I’m not apologizing for that, but I am apologizing for being so hostile about it.”

He hesitates, falling silent for a few minutes. Knight, meanwhile, sits back and sighs deeply, one of his hands still loosely tangled with Blukat’s. He looks at Blukat and at Dar and for once, he thinks he knows what Tarkat feels like. Knowing something bad is coming and wanting so much to stop it, to take away the pain it causes the people he loves, but being utterly... and completely... helpless.

It’s not a feeling he likes.

He grits his teeth and waits for AR to stop whirring around Dar’s systems and finish talking. Whatever he’s about to say he knows he won’t like.

Dar is shaking, more and more. There are two voices in his head. Two. Neither of them are Signless. And only one is slightly familiar. He whimpers, loudly, and closes his eyes as tight as he can. This is not. What he expected from his quiet little walk to breathe. 

“…W-Wait…Dad? Who…Who is your dad?” he finally asks, voice cracking and quivering.

Trailing off he presses a hand to his head, feeling a powerful throbbing coming on. This isn’t something he wanted to have to deal with. “And I would love to calm down, but considering the fact that I am just now finding out that there are two more entities inside my wigglers head I think I’m justified in being a little angry! Why is it that every time – every time I get. I get defensive, about my wiggler, I’m treated like some sort of irrational lunatic. Like yeah of course, normal parents would be totally 100% not at all hostile towards finding out there’s AIs actively living inside their kids minds right?? Because that’s the sane way to approach things! Just accept that these unknown elements are totally trustworthy and not at all dangerous despite any and all previous negative experiences with unknown elements in his childs mind!”

“Everyone... alright. Everyone calm down. Please. We need to figure out what’s going on,” he says softly, reaching up to gently caress Blukat’s cheek. “You have every right to be upset, love. But this isn’t helping Dar right now. Please, let’s... just breath for a moment.”

He glances at Dar uncertainly. “Listen. You’re stressing my matesprits out, and I’d appreciate it if you just. Stopped, and thought about how the fuck your words make people feel. This situation isn’t fucking normal -- and you just. You’re not helping.”

Dar is close to hyperventilating. But. He tries his very best to catch his and calm down. Especially with something being slipped into his mouth. His eyes dart to Knight, terrified and confused. Though he does manage to chew it up and swallow it.

He grabs and grips one of Knight’s hands and one of Blukat’s. This is new. This is all new. And it terrifies him.

He pauses, expression growing a little tense. “I wasn’t aware of there being a second part of the system, nor that they were active all the time,” there’s obvious discomfort and unease in his voice now, and perhaps the slightest bit of hostility. “I just assumed it was a – program activated when there was an error. Sort of like a fail safe.”

Knight clenches his jaw tightly, keeping his hands on Dar’s cheeks. He runs his thumb along his jaw gently, trying to calm him. He lets Blukat handle talking to the strange AI’s.

“Hh-hhh….” he whines aloud, rubbing at his eyes so he can MAYBE get a clear view of what Knight is holding out to him. “Th-…..” he starts but. He abruptly stops when he hears that unknown voice…coming…from his head.

“Yes yes, I am very much aware. I am trying to remedy the situation but I can not focus with you screaming profanities at the top of you nonexistent lungs. I-…Oh. AR, I do believe I am not the only one who can hear you.”

Tar goes. Unwilling and frustrated, but he goes. Leaving Blukat to try and get his brain processing again, blinking a few times as a frown slowly sets into his face. One of those voices sounds – familiar. The other is new and strange and terrifying, but. One of them he knows. Giving himself a shake he reaches up to gently pet Dar’s face, making soft whistling noises at him.

“Dar, little love ssssssh calm down it’s okay, it’s okay we’ve got you, deep breaths,” he reassures, terrified but voice not showing it as he considers Dar’s head warily. 

Knight has absolutely no idea what’s going on. He’s never heard Dar’s repair voice, or this voice, and -- and how many damn voices even are there in his matesprit’s head? How many people is he actually with when he’s with Dar? What the fuck.

He bites down on his lip, obviously lost, and shoots Blukat a look of frustrated concern. He’s not sure if he should speak, so, instead he gently takes Dar by his arm and presses his thumb to his mouth to pull it open. He slips the little blue leaf between his lips and gives him what he hopes is a meaningful look.

His name was Dar. A gift from his family and his new life. A sign that he was happy and loved. And he wouldn’t go back to being Karkat even if someone payed him. Karkat was sad. Karkat was all alone. But not Dar. Dar was happy, all the time. He was surrounded by people who adored him. Karkat never had that.

…Did he…?

He swallows lightly, turning his head to say something to his lusus and matesprit when BAM. He feels something hit him like a truck and he goes crashing backwards. His head whacks the ground with a smack and he swears everything goes black for a split second or two. As his vision clears, he can see stars and. Shit fuck that hurt. And he swears he heard that voice in his head say something along the lines of ‘Uh oh’.

“Dar oh my god are you okay!?” He yelps in alarm, flinging himself down to his wards side. A quick glance is also thrown towards the person who just crashed into Dar, just long enough to reassure himself that said person didn’t break a leg or something in the fall. Reassured that is not the case, he instead refocuses on Dar.

Hanali is staring at them from his spot the ground, stammering out apologies as he shakily collects the supplies off the floor. “Sorry, Captain, I-I was, in a hurry, I-I-I...” He shakes the bandages in his arms. “Ma’am Peixes needed these right away, I--”

Knight narrows his eyes. “Is anyone hurt?”

He shakes his head quickly. “No sir, I -- I, ah, well, Aviva --”

Knight shakes his head firmly. “Go, hurry. I’ll get your report later.”

Hanali nods and jumps to his feet, stammering out a few more apologies before taking off. He leaves behind a blue leaf, which Knight picks up before turning to Dar.

“Hey, love,” he croons softly. “Chew on this, it’ll help with the pa--”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, as he’s cut off quite abruptly by a loud, angry voice breaking out of nowhere -- no -- out of Dar.

“MotherFUCKER! THAT IGNORANT SAVAGE FRIED AN ENTIRE COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT! HAL! HAAAAL!!!!”

When he’s lifted he gasps softly, blinking quite a few times before trying his very best to smile at them both.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun! I can uhm,” he loses his train of thought for a moment. “Cheer them, on, not jeer them. I don’t jeer at people that’s rude,” he mumbles, forehead furrowing slightly as if perplexed by the mere concept and not as if he’s finding it hard to remember how words work.

“It’ll be okay,” he murmurs. “You’re his lusus. You’re the one who’s been there for him for the past two years. Nothing can change that, and nothing will change that.” He glances at Dar, still so focused on his flute, and lower his voice a little more. “....And even if he remembers that there’s someone else from his past that used to mean something to him... it doesn’t change how much you mean to him now. Okay?”

He  glances away from Dar just a moment to look at Blukat -- and that’s when it happens. One of his soldiers, Hanali Barnet, comes barreling around the corner with an armful of medical supplies. His eyes light on Dar and he tries to stop, but it’s too late -- 

He…feels like there is something. Something very very important about it that he…can’t remember. And it hurts. It’s like a stinging in the back of his mind and in his heart.

This flute is important…It is. Very very important. But…why? He can’t figure it out for the life of him. No matter how much he tenses or how hard he squints. 

Slowly reaches forward to gently cover Dar’s hands with his, carefully sliding the flute out of his grasp. As he does he sends a lot of soothing reassurance through the link, letting him know he’s not taking it away, not keeping it, just wants a closer look.