Kanaya Maryam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bloodyvirgo) wrote2013-12-30 10:41 pm
bloodyvirgo) wrote2013-12-30 10:41 pm
Entry tags:
Conversations With Formerly Dead People
The meteor which has become a short-term home for the survivors of both sessions is huge; almost as if someone knew a bunch of teenagers would be holing up here. That means there are plenty of locations for everyone to stake out their own corners. Treasure hordes, networks of air-circulation ducts, genteel sitting rooms, home theaters, you name it. And in the deeper recesses, big empty spaces where no one in particular has bothered to put their stamp on it, just cavernous rooms and banks of weird machinery.
Kanaya's been winding her way deeper into the guts of the meteor for a while, hurrying a little as she stalks through the dim corridors, missing more than usually the light and fresh air of a real planet. She's also trying to decide what she's going to say to Vriska. She can hear her, shouting down the corridor, but part of her still balks at the thought of a real conversation with her. They've been carefully avoiding each other for so long now.
When she finally arrives, she pauses, watching from a doorway for a time before clearing her throat politely.
Construction is going on here, in a large room that has been haphazardly swept clean. Captain Serket is supervising, while everyone else takes the brunt of the heavy lifting and subordinating directly to the face, as is typical for these kinds of operations.
“Yeah, you’re doing gr8, Karkat!” she calls out from her pose of elaborate casualness against the wall. “I want this tiny fake town laid out as sloppily and unmethodically as possi8le, so don’t do anything 8right like make a grid over there. Just kind of drop the cans wherever! Super!” A raspy voice growls back something unprintable from across the room.
Kanaya tries again. "Vriska."
Vriska spins away from the vituperative complaints issuing from Can Town; she wasn’t really listening anyway. “Heeeeeeeey, Fussyfangs! Long time no see! I mean, I guess I see you all the time, but you're usually wrapped around Lalonde like a hungry snuggle serpent, or standing in the 8ackground while we argue a8out crazy Light stuff, h8h8! I guess we haven't had a chance to talk, you know, one on one, in... wow, I don’t even know how long! I mean I literally don’t know, all the days 8lur together hurtling through this crazy timeless wasteland. What 8rings you down here? Finally decided to get involved in the ur8an planning phase of operations?” She grins her sloppy fangy grin and flips her hair back from her face.
Before the game, that look would have her bloodpusher thumping and flustered you to know end, derailing your thought. The loss of her flushed feelings brings things into clearer light, and she’s glad all over to be in hearts with Rose.
"I Came To Find You," she admits. "I Think It's Time You And I Stopped Avoiding One Another. Especially Considering The Length Of Time We Are To Be On This Meteor."
“Yeah, no kidding! It’s about time you took an interest! While you're curled up on your cozy sofa pondering transracial 8reeding duties, we're down here doing the real work! I mean, obviously it's not REALLY important, but when you look at the Mayor's face how can you say no? I mean, Vantas and Strid8r have whatever dum8 quadrant mess THEY'RE in going on, 8ut they're still down to help organize this mess! Especially when there's not much else to do until we get to the new session and take on the real 8ig 8ad!”
She shakes her head. “8ut don’t worry, the rest of us are out here taking care of it. Well, some of us. The ones who aren't dum8 8oys or locked in fridges or 8oth, h8h8. Me and Terezi, mostly.” There’s furious protest from the Knights in the room, but nobody cares about that. “It's all right, I guess. It's pretty cool actually. Can't really blame you. This is just a waste of time. Childish really. But I'm having fun! Don't tell no8ody. ;;;;D"
Kanaya frowns momentairly, deciding not to address Vriska's condensation of her apparent duties. "It Is Always A Joy, Working With The Mayor. He Is A Wonderful Friend To All Of Us. Perhaps I Will Help In A Short While, After We Talk About Some Things?"
The nameless carapace soldier they all call the Mayor by unspoken agreement waves at her cheerfully from the floor, where he is carefully constructing a city hall out of storied tomes. Aw, Mayor.
Vriska is... oblivious. “I'm really starting to get excited to get to the session! There’s a so many different plans going on out here simultaneously, 8ut I think I can say confidently that I’m the only one on the right track. Find the ultimate weapon and cut to the chase. Maybe I’ll just swipe it off my lameass dead self, waltz up to the asshole and one-shot him personally.”
“I-”
“That's how a real pro goes a8out 8usiness, you know?. You take any shortcut you find. That's what a certain DIFFERENT Light player on this meteor doesn't get! Not that she doesn't have some good points. It's crazy, when you think a8out it. That's what I never understood 8efore. What's lucky and unlucky depends on what you want! And maybe wanting to lord over a 8unch of peons is kind of a shitty thing to want. May8e 8eing lucky enough to get that would 8e the unluckiest thing possi8le!!!!!!!!” She shrugs, and gazes across the room at the laboring Knights. “Not that I'm really interested in all that planet-ruling 8usiness anymore. I’m over it. I'll leave that up to you and Mister 8leeding Heart Vantas.”
“That’s Not What I-”
“You know, Kanaya, I used to think you were kind of a weak sister, 8ut that was 8efore you came out all glow-in-the-dark and 8isected Ampora out of nowhere!!!!!!!! Not to mention kicked that fucker Gamzee right in the glo8es and clocked a god of luck, namely ME, square in the kisser like a 8ona fide 8adass. There’s always space in my quadrants for some8ody like that.”
“If your flushed quadrant wasn't already locked down, may8e we could have given THAT one a spin, huh? H8h8, we'll never know now, I guess. Of course, there's always pitch... since Terezi's been waxing pale and we locked Gamzee up for good, I've been pretty short on rivals around here! I mean, Karkat keeps sniffing around 8ut THAT'S about the 8iggest joke I ever heard get said. What do you say to that, Kanaya? Got room for another iron in that fire?”
And then she winks. Again.
"H8h8h8h8h8h8h8h8! Just kidding, glowworm! Wow, the look on your pan!"
It’s nearly impossible to interrupt Vriska when she’s in full rant, she and Karkat are somewhat similar in that sense. But her addressing her with the familiarity that he does, rankles her some, and she frowns.
"I Wanted To Address The Pale...Thing That You And Terezi Seem To Be Moving Towards."
Vriska’s mouth hangs open. “Uhhh, ok8y? What a8out it? Is that really any of your 8usiness? I know we flirted with that quadrant too, 8ut, uh, if you don't remem8er, you stopped talking to me out of nowhere halfway through our session and punched me in the face for no reason!"
"Which again, was fucking rad, 8ut not exactly conciliatory!"
"Not Terribly, No," she begins, though if she's talking about it being her business or conciliatory is unclear. "I Just Wanted To See Where We Stood, Since Yes, We Were In Diamonds Together, But I Don't Think We've Run Pale For One Another For Quite Some Time."
Vriska makes a pained noise; this is the worst kind of conversation to be having. "Uh, DUH???????? Do we really need to drag all this out, Kanaya? I get it, I was too much for you to deal with. I don't know why you decided to give up on me when you did, 8ut if we're 8eing honest, you never really managed to stop me from doing 8ad things, did you?"
"8ut hey!!!!!!!! The only way Terezi managed to ever show me I was fucking up was to doom every8ody 8y killing me, then using her dying 8reath to send an alien 8ack to punch me in the f8ce! I get it, I'm a pretty horri8le person, 8ut even for me, that's a w8ke up call! And if you weren't willing to invent a whole new form of time travel just to slap some sense into me, I guess I can't 8lame you! 8ygones and all that shit."
She frowns, one of her needle-like incisors flashing in a sneer. "8ut if you're sniffing around trying to get 8ack in the pink with me? Gimme a 8r8k! May8e I am a horri8le person. May8e everyone else is right about that. 8ut I'm going to 8e that horri8le person as hard as I can, with the right t8rgets this time, and I’m going to do something important for EVERY8ODY. And Terezi's going to 8e the one who got me there, not you. You can't swoop 8ack in at the last min8te now that I'm less of a handf8l!"
Kanaya frowns again, and the defensive hunch she adopts may just mirror that of a certain Knight back in Milliways.
"Look. I Know, Okay? I Know I Ended Up Being A Horrible Moirail, But You Weren't The Best Either And--"
She stops herself, letting out an explosive breath as she combs a hand through her hair. "I Really Do Wish You And Terezi All The Best In Diamonds."
"And that's all you wanted to s8y? Seriously???????? Or is there another fussyfang footwrapper waiting to drop!" She sighs theatrically. "This would be so much easier if I was allowed to use my 8adass powers to dig through your sponge and find out you know!!!!!!!! 8ut I can just guess what Terezi would have to say a8out that. So why don't you just spill! Or do I need to get a can-opener?"
Kanaya sighs again. "I Was Red For You, For A Long Time. Obviously Not Anymore, Considering My Flushed Relationship With The Rose Human. But That Was A Large Part Of My Failure As Your Moirail. I Want To Apologise For That, It’s Hard To Keep Someone In Check When You Think They’re Pants-Droppingly Charming All The Time."
Vriska is, for the first time in God knows how long, genuinely speechless.
"You... had a crush on me? I seriously had... wow, Kanaya!!!!!!!! This is what I'm talking a8out! You're wayyyyyyyy too su8tle for me, h8h8! Well, let's just s8y it, you pro8a8ly dodged a 8ullet on that one, huh? I don't think I'm really m8de for that kind of quadrant! Honestly I'm not sure I was hatched for any8ody, in 8NY quadrant, 8ut Terezi sure the heck was hatched to keep my ass in line. At least for long enough." She stares into the distance, even though there is no distance, just walls. But who knows what her vision 8fold sees.
"It's too 8ad we don't talk more, Kanaya, 8ut I guess may8e it's just too tough for 8oth of us! Too much alike, h8h8! Not on the surface, o8viously, 8ut we 8oth were supposed to die that day. Had to come 8ack cuz we still had work to do. I think a8out that a lot, you know. May8e I've m8de a lot of mistakes, may8e I'm a bad person when you get down to it, 8ut at the end of the night, reality needed some8ody like me. And it needed some8ody like you, too! I know what my destiny is going to 8e, and it's a real 8itch, 8ut that's exactly what I am! That's what I was hatched to 8e. And that's okay."
Her gaze dials back in and rests briefly on Karkat. "What a8out you, Kanaya? Have you got the glo8es to do what you were 8rought back to do?"
She follows Vriska's gaze at the end, still frowning from before.
"I'm Going To Have To, Aren't I? Otherwise All This Is For Naught. For What It's Worth, Though, Terezi Seems To Be A Fantastic Moirail For You. Much Better Than I Was. I Don't Think We Would Have Done Well In Red, Either, Like You Said, We're Too Alike."
"Perhaps We Should Talk More. I'd Like To At Least Try To Be Friends Outside Of A Quadrant."
"That could 8e alright, fussyfangs. I mean, may8e. It could be pretty cool. I don't know. Anyway--right now, there's work to do."
And... there she goes.
"D8VE, WH8T THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING???????? YOU CALL THAT A 8RIDGE? HOW DID YOU EVEN...."
Kanaya watches her go for a long moment, then shakes her head as she turns to slip away.
That went better than expected, and it felt good to get that all in the open. Perhaps she'll go and see what Rose is up to, and offer her assistance.
Edited by John Egbert at ???????? (local) Revert
Kanaya's been winding her way deeper into the guts of the meteor for a while, hurrying a little as she stalks through the dim corridors, missing more than usually the light and fresh air of a real planet. She's also trying to decide what she's going to say to Vriska. She can hear her, shouting down the corridor, but part of her still balks at the thought of a real conversation with her. They've been carefully avoiding each other for so long now.
When she finally arrives, she pauses, watching from a doorway for a time before clearing her throat politely.
Construction is going on here, in a large room that has been haphazardly swept clean. Captain Serket is supervising, while everyone else takes the brunt of the heavy lifting and subordinating directly to the face, as is typical for these kinds of operations.
“Yeah, you’re doing gr8, Karkat!” she calls out from her pose of elaborate casualness against the wall. “I want this tiny fake town laid out as sloppily and unmethodically as possi8le, so don’t do anything 8right like make a grid over there. Just kind of drop the cans wherever! Super!” A raspy voice growls back something unprintable from across the room.
Kanaya tries again. "Vriska."
Vriska spins away from the vituperative complaints issuing from Can Town; she wasn’t really listening anyway. “Heeeeeeeey, Fussyfangs! Long time no see! I mean, I guess I see you all the time, but you're usually wrapped around Lalonde like a hungry snuggle serpent, or standing in the 8ackground while we argue a8out crazy Light stuff, h8h8! I guess we haven't had a chance to talk, you know, one on one, in... wow, I don’t even know how long! I mean I literally don’t know, all the days 8lur together hurtling through this crazy timeless wasteland. What 8rings you down here? Finally decided to get involved in the ur8an planning phase of operations?” She grins her sloppy fangy grin and flips her hair back from her face.
Before the game, that look would have her bloodpusher thumping and flustered you to know end, derailing your thought. The loss of her flushed feelings brings things into clearer light, and she’s glad all over to be in hearts with Rose.
"I Came To Find You," she admits. "I Think It's Time You And I Stopped Avoiding One Another. Especially Considering The Length Of Time We Are To Be On This Meteor."
“Yeah, no kidding! It’s about time you took an interest! While you're curled up on your cozy sofa pondering transracial 8reeding duties, we're down here doing the real work! I mean, obviously it's not REALLY important, but when you look at the Mayor's face how can you say no? I mean, Vantas and Strid8r have whatever dum8 quadrant mess THEY'RE in going on, 8ut they're still down to help organize this mess! Especially when there's not much else to do until we get to the new session and take on the real 8ig 8ad!”
She shakes her head. “8ut don’t worry, the rest of us are out here taking care of it. Well, some of us. The ones who aren't dum8 8oys or locked in fridges or 8oth, h8h8. Me and Terezi, mostly.” There’s furious protest from the Knights in the room, but nobody cares about that. “It's all right, I guess. It's pretty cool actually. Can't really blame you. This is just a waste of time. Childish really. But I'm having fun! Don't tell no8ody. ;;;;D"
Kanaya frowns momentairly, deciding not to address Vriska's condensation of her apparent duties. "It Is Always A Joy, Working With The Mayor. He Is A Wonderful Friend To All Of Us. Perhaps I Will Help In A Short While, After We Talk About Some Things?"
The nameless carapace soldier they all call the Mayor by unspoken agreement waves at her cheerfully from the floor, where he is carefully constructing a city hall out of storied tomes. Aw, Mayor.
Vriska is... oblivious. “I'm really starting to get excited to get to the session! There’s a so many different plans going on out here simultaneously, 8ut I think I can say confidently that I’m the only one on the right track. Find the ultimate weapon and cut to the chase. Maybe I’ll just swipe it off my lameass dead self, waltz up to the asshole and one-shot him personally.”
“I-”
“That's how a real pro goes a8out 8usiness, you know?. You take any shortcut you find. That's what a certain DIFFERENT Light player on this meteor doesn't get! Not that she doesn't have some good points. It's crazy, when you think a8out it. That's what I never understood 8efore. What's lucky and unlucky depends on what you want! And maybe wanting to lord over a 8unch of peons is kind of a shitty thing to want. May8e 8eing lucky enough to get that would 8e the unluckiest thing possi8le!!!!!!!!” She shrugs, and gazes across the room at the laboring Knights. “Not that I'm really interested in all that planet-ruling 8usiness anymore. I’m over it. I'll leave that up to you and Mister 8leeding Heart Vantas.”
“That’s Not What I-”
“You know, Kanaya, I used to think you were kind of a weak sister, 8ut that was 8efore you came out all glow-in-the-dark and 8isected Ampora out of nowhere!!!!!!!! Not to mention kicked that fucker Gamzee right in the glo8es and clocked a god of luck, namely ME, square in the kisser like a 8ona fide 8adass. There’s always space in my quadrants for some8ody like that.”
“If your flushed quadrant wasn't already locked down, may8e we could have given THAT one a spin, huh? H8h8, we'll never know now, I guess. Of course, there's always pitch... since Terezi's been waxing pale and we locked Gamzee up for good, I've been pretty short on rivals around here! I mean, Karkat keeps sniffing around 8ut THAT'S about the 8iggest joke I ever heard get said. What do you say to that, Kanaya? Got room for another iron in that fire?”
And then she winks. Again.
"H8h8h8h8h8h8h8h8! Just kidding, glowworm! Wow, the look on your pan!"
It’s nearly impossible to interrupt Vriska when she’s in full rant, she and Karkat are somewhat similar in that sense. But her addressing her with the familiarity that he does, rankles her some, and she frowns.
"I Wanted To Address The Pale...Thing That You And Terezi Seem To Be Moving Towards."
Vriska’s mouth hangs open. “Uhhh, ok8y? What a8out it? Is that really any of your 8usiness? I know we flirted with that quadrant too, 8ut, uh, if you don't remem8er, you stopped talking to me out of nowhere halfway through our session and punched me in the face for no reason!"
"Which again, was fucking rad, 8ut not exactly conciliatory!"
"Not Terribly, No," she begins, though if she's talking about it being her business or conciliatory is unclear. "I Just Wanted To See Where We Stood, Since Yes, We Were In Diamonds Together, But I Don't Think We've Run Pale For One Another For Quite Some Time."
Vriska makes a pained noise; this is the worst kind of conversation to be having. "Uh, DUH???????? Do we really need to drag all this out, Kanaya? I get it, I was too much for you to deal with. I don't know why you decided to give up on me when you did, 8ut if we're 8eing honest, you never really managed to stop me from doing 8ad things, did you?"
"8ut hey!!!!!!!! The only way Terezi managed to ever show me I was fucking up was to doom every8ody 8y killing me, then using her dying 8reath to send an alien 8ack to punch me in the f8ce! I get it, I'm a pretty horri8le person, 8ut even for me, that's a w8ke up call! And if you weren't willing to invent a whole new form of time travel just to slap some sense into me, I guess I can't 8lame you! 8ygones and all that shit."
She frowns, one of her needle-like incisors flashing in a sneer. "8ut if you're sniffing around trying to get 8ack in the pink with me? Gimme a 8r8k! May8e I am a horri8le person. May8e everyone else is right about that. 8ut I'm going to 8e that horri8le person as hard as I can, with the right t8rgets this time, and I’m going to do something important for EVERY8ODY. And Terezi's going to 8e the one who got me there, not you. You can't swoop 8ack in at the last min8te now that I'm less of a handf8l!"
Kanaya frowns again, and the defensive hunch she adopts may just mirror that of a certain Knight back in Milliways.
"Look. I Know, Okay? I Know I Ended Up Being A Horrible Moirail, But You Weren't The Best Either And--"
She stops herself, letting out an explosive breath as she combs a hand through her hair. "I Really Do Wish You And Terezi All The Best In Diamonds."
"And that's all you wanted to s8y? Seriously???????? Or is there another fussyfang footwrapper waiting to drop!" She sighs theatrically. "This would be so much easier if I was allowed to use my 8adass powers to dig through your sponge and find out you know!!!!!!!! 8ut I can just guess what Terezi would have to say a8out that. So why don't you just spill! Or do I need to get a can-opener?"
Kanaya sighs again. "I Was Red For You, For A Long Time. Obviously Not Anymore, Considering My Flushed Relationship With The Rose Human. But That Was A Large Part Of My Failure As Your Moirail. I Want To Apologise For That, It’s Hard To Keep Someone In Check When You Think They’re Pants-Droppingly Charming All The Time."
Vriska is, for the first time in God knows how long, genuinely speechless.
"You... had a crush on me? I seriously had... wow, Kanaya!!!!!!!! This is what I'm talking a8out! You're wayyyyyyyy too su8tle for me, h8h8! Well, let's just s8y it, you pro8a8ly dodged a 8ullet on that one, huh? I don't think I'm really m8de for that kind of quadrant! Honestly I'm not sure I was hatched for any8ody, in 8NY quadrant, 8ut Terezi sure the heck was hatched to keep my ass in line. At least for long enough." She stares into the distance, even though there is no distance, just walls. But who knows what her vision 8fold sees.
"It's too 8ad we don't talk more, Kanaya, 8ut I guess may8e it's just too tough for 8oth of us! Too much alike, h8h8! Not on the surface, o8viously, 8ut we 8oth were supposed to die that day. Had to come 8ack cuz we still had work to do. I think a8out that a lot, you know. May8e I've m8de a lot of mistakes, may8e I'm a bad person when you get down to it, 8ut at the end of the night, reality needed some8ody like me. And it needed some8ody like you, too! I know what my destiny is going to 8e, and it's a real 8itch, 8ut that's exactly what I am! That's what I was hatched to 8e. And that's okay."
Her gaze dials back in and rests briefly on Karkat. "What a8out you, Kanaya? Have you got the glo8es to do what you were 8rought back to do?"
She follows Vriska's gaze at the end, still frowning from before.
"I'm Going To Have To, Aren't I? Otherwise All This Is For Naught. For What It's Worth, Though, Terezi Seems To Be A Fantastic Moirail For You. Much Better Than I Was. I Don't Think We Would Have Done Well In Red, Either, Like You Said, We're Too Alike."
"Perhaps We Should Talk More. I'd Like To At Least Try To Be Friends Outside Of A Quadrant."
"That could 8e alright, fussyfangs. I mean, may8e. It could be pretty cool. I don't know. Anyway--right now, there's work to do."
And... there she goes.
"D8VE, WH8T THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING???????? YOU CALL THAT A 8RIDGE? HOW DID YOU EVEN...."
Kanaya watches her go for a long moment, then shakes her head as she turns to slip away.
That went better than expected, and it felt good to get that all in the open. Perhaps she'll go and see what Rose is up to, and offer her assistance.
Edited by John Egbert at ???????? (local) Revert