The oh-so-OPEN housewarming party assault log

[spandexisyouth]

Characters: Karkat, Gai, and anyone and everyone who drops by!
Location: Karkat's new 'hivething.'
Rating: PG?
Time: Afternoon
Description: Karkat is moving. Gai wants to cheer up his perpetually grumpy friend. Anyone can have seen Gai's post on the network and drop by.



It didn't take many stealth skills at all to plan this party. The filters on the devices made things very easy, and with the labor as greatly divided as it was Gai didn't even have to haul a whole bunch of stuff to where Karkat would be moving in.

Picking the lock was the work of moments and then Gai was in the apartment, starting to set up. Soon others would join him to help prepare, and hopefully Karkat would be slow enough in returning that he would only come when everything was ready. Gai would hope, at least.


[ooc: Feel free to set up more headers/threads than the three I've put here for convenience!]

Comments

[justiceisdue.livejournal.com]

Selendis looked over the terrarium with mild interest. Keeping pets wasn't something her people did, and the wildlife tended to stay wild. She didn't understand the purpose of removing the crab from its natural habitat, but Karkat liked it, so that was enough for her.

"Despite the intrusion, they left no unfair burden," she said, turning her head towards the open balcony. She longed to stretch her legs, but she had one more thing to take care of with her partner. She'd let him tend to the pet crab first, though.

[dungenessmaster]

Karkat wasn't a pet person either and didn't fully understand the point of having a tiny Earth crab inflicted on him, but it was reminiscent of someone he'd looked after back home. Besides, the crab had been a present from his best friend, so he could grudgingly appreciate the sentiment.

He set the whole business up on a table in the living area, then glanced over his shoulder at Selendis.

"You know, you don't have to force yourself to stay in here. You look like some idiot jammed the wrong toy in a dollhive or something."

[justiceisdue.livejournal.com]

In something of a silent agreement, Selendis shifted her position, armored toes curling into the carpet until she was situated. That was as far as she moved, however. Being indoors wasn't really that bad, so long as it was for a short period of time. He had picked up and moved everything he owned to accommodate their partnership - she could make a few compromises of her own.

"Karkat, there is something I require of you. Please come here for a moment." She held out her hand towards him, simply expecting him to offer his own to her.

[dungenessmaster]

Karkat frowned at that, more out of confusion than any sort of antagonism. He hadn't been expecting anything like this from her. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped closer and offered her his own hand.

[justiceisdue.livejournal.com]

Selendis held his palm facing up, and with her free hand she took out a small blue crystal. It hadn't been hard for her to pry it out of her armor, and it wasn't very big, but it had some weight to it. The Khaydarin crystals were sacred to her people, but here it was little more than a pretty blue rock. There were times she hated looking at them, seeing them dead and lifeless in this place, but they had to serve a purpose.

"This is mine," she said, pressing the crystal into the palm of his hand. "You will keep it for me. Only once we have collected ninety-nine kishin eggs and one witch soul, only once you have become a Death Scythe, and only once we have won this war will you return it to me."

She let go of his hand, a bit reluctantly. The crystal was useless here, but it wasn't something she would give away under normal circumstances.

"As it is mine, it will leave with me if BREW removes me from the city." It was an unfortunate possibility, and she wanted to offer Karkat some way of knowing what had happened. "I will, however, look forward to the day that is returned to me."

[dungenessmaster]

Karkat looked down at the little stone and turned it over in his hand. Sure, he guessed it was pretty, but the significance of the thing was lost on him. No idea what a Khaydrian crystal was or what she expected him to do with it, if anything.

The significance of Selendis's words, however, was a whole different story. After a moment, he nodded.

"Yeah. We'll get me to Death Scythe and you to Three-Star, fuck these witches up, and in the meantime I'll hang onto my shiny new..."

Another glance at the stone. And then back up at Selendis.

"...What the hell is it, anyway?"

[justiceisdue.livejournal.com]

"A Khaydarin crystal," she said, tapping one of the larger crystals embedded in the breastplate of her armor. "It is from Aiur. Through their energy we may fuel our technology, store our memories, strengthen our psionic bonds and amplify our natural powers."

Selendis didn't expect him to do anything with besides what she'd said. It was the only thing she had to give, anyways.

"BREW has rendered it inert. It can do nothing here." She wasn't exactly in a rush to get rid of any of them, though. Even after so many months it still bothered her that she couldn't feel the warm energy that had always emanated from them. The power of the crystals had been as constant as night and day to her. After a moment's silence, she adds: "It is no less important to me despite the change."

[dungenessmaster]

"Oh. So... if BREW hadn't screwed with it, it could tap into your memories or something?" The promise of a partnership he could count on until they made it to the top (or got fucked over by BREW) meant a lot more to him than the physical gift in his hand, but her words seemed to spark a little more interest in it. He knew he couldn't do anything with it even if it could be used by a non-Protoss, but it was still valuable. A piece of her home.

He pocketed the gem and shrugged mildly. "I didn't exactly get to hang onto any mystical trinkets from Alternia, so I guess there's no awesome shit I can pass on to you in some sort of sloppy sentimental cultural exchange, but for what it's worth, I'm in this thing for the long haul too. Like I said -- Three-Star and Death Scythe or bust."

[justiceisdue.livejournal.com]

Selendis nodded. "If that is what I required of it, yes."

That was only one small facet of the crystal's power, but she saw no reason to go into any great detail about it, since it meant nothing in Death City. Selendis knew that humans couldn't stand to hold an active crystal for very long, so it was probably for the best that she could give it to Karkat without any risk.

"I do not expect anything in return, Karkat." She would be able to figure out if BREW had taken him a lot faster than if it happened to her. Besides, he didn't seem as emotionally attached to his homeworld as she was to hers. "We will see this through to the end with or without it."