[log] Kitty Kat [open/closed]

[thewarningafter]

Characters: Stephen Strange, Peter Quill, Davesprite, Karkat Vantas, and the Cat formerly known as Kitty Kitty Bang Bang
Location: Building 122
Date: Evening/Night 270
Summary: A chance meeting by night
Warnings: References to torture; psychological reactions to traumatic experiences

[122: This A-frame house consists of one large empty room and a sealed door that seems like it should lead to a basement, although there's currently no way to open it up and see. A penis has been drawn on a corner of the wall in some sweet-smelling dried white substance, as well as "suck it". Below the words, "you first" is written in pen. "It is a two dimensional drawing. It cannot be sucked." is written below as well, in neat block letters. On the wall in blue ink is written "This is Building 105 on the composite map. Contact @CaptSteveRogers for details." Underneath is a fairly accurate map showing the house in relation to the south and east snow walls, the gas station, the convenience store, the chapel, the vet's office, and buildings 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 93, 97, 99, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120, and 121. The snow wall is labeled "Snow wall." The gas station is labeled "Gas station; clean water, working toilet." The convenience store is labeled "Convenience store, food available; DO NOT STAY HERE OVERNIGHT." The chapel is labeled "UNSAFE, DO NOT STAY HERE OVERNIGHT." The vet's office is labeled "Presumably unsafe, DO NOT STAY HERE OVERNIGHT."]

Comments

[thewarningafter]

Arrivals

[It has been a long, long day in the tunnels, and Stephen's glad enough to be on the surface again to just toss his things down once he's read the writing on the wall and confirmed that they're at least in the neighborhood of where they meant to come up. Barren would be an understatement in describing this little house, apart from the random dick drawing and its associated commentary (really, people?). Still, it's a relief after the oppressive dark of the seemingly endless maze he's certain now took them underneath Hsiaoke Pass.

He glances at Peter as he crouches to start pulling things out of his bag.]

I vote we rest here tonight, wait until morning to continue west.


For Karkat

[Once the initial hubbub is over, Stephen's going to take full advantage of this chance meeting to fulfill a promise made perhaps in haste. There's not much privacy to be had here, but he watches for an opportunity to approach Karkat casually, or to let the troll catch him sitting alone. He'll offer Karkat a wan smile as he untucks the stethoscope from inside his coat.]


Open

[After that's all done, Stephen settles in for a little time poking away at his tablet as he waits to see whether exhaustion will win out over insomnia. By now he's laid out the various random articles of clothing he's picked up here and there, which he uses as bedding, and stripped off his coat and rubber gloves, turning both inside out. He's having trouble focusing on what he's doing, looking up whenever someone moves around the room...and quietly sliding his hands under his cloak when someone comes too near. The majority of his new scars are hidden by his clothing, but with his gloves off it's clear up close that his hands are crossed with a new layer of scars, including crude prophet symbols carved into his skin.]

and i dance dance dance and i dance dance dance

[quadrangle]

[It doesn't take Karkat long to peel away from the others and seek out Stephen, whatever else is going on at the time. He just finds him, sits down next to him, and waits, watching the stethoscope out of the corner of his eye. What the fuck even is this alien technology, how does it work.]

... Glad we found you.

[Even if it was mostly by accident.]

[thewarningafter]

Same. I'm also glad we didn't get turned around under the pass. That's the direction you guys are going next, right? It's a maze down there.

[quadrangle]

[He blinks at that, then frowns.]

So my signs are gone? Fuck. And no, not really, but I'll remember that for next time.

[Damn this place for cleaning that shit off, though. maybe he should try and map it? Ugh.]

[thewarningafter]

Didn't see any while we were down there. I half expected to come back up right where we'd started.

[quadrangle]

[Frown intensifies!]

Fuck, okay. Guess I can try again next time I head down there, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of point. It might be better just to map it out.

[However the hell that's supposed to work. He still doesn't really get the instructions Beckett laid out for him before, but maybe he just has to go over them again.]

[Whatever the case, that's not really their focus right now, and he sighs, glancing to the stethoscope again.]

So, what do I need to do for this thing to work?

[thewarningafter]

One end in your ears, one end on your chest -- by which I mean I'll go ahead and find your heartbeat and then pass the earpiece over to you so you can listen.

[quadrangle]

[He relaxes instantly at that, nodding just enough to show his understanding. He may or may not have been worrying he'd have to take off his sweater or something to avoid fucking up the sound or something; thank god he doesn't. That would just be weird.]

Yeah, okay. It's in the same spot as a human's, mostly, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

[Unless Stephen is just incompetent or something, but this is a big enough favor that he won't voice the thought aloud. For now.]

[thewarningafter]

Oh, good.

[He was actually a little concerned about that. The cultists had been able to find his heart, though, well enough to -- no, don't think about that. Don't think about the sound and smell of that operating room.

He hooks the earpieces in to his own ears and shifts his position.]

Easier if I can put it directly against the skin.

[He huffs on the diaphragm to warm it; if Karkat will allow he'll slip it under the troll's shirt, shifting it here and there with as firm of motions as his damaged hands are capable of until he can hear Karkat's heartbeat.]

[quadrangle]

[Easier if...]

[Karkat's eyes dart to the stethoscope, then back to Stephen's face. Dread is starting to coil in the pit of his stomach, which is—it's stupid, right? Because he'd already considered that this might be the case, it's not surprising, but he already doesn't want to take off his sweater (doesn't want anyone else to see his scars), and if the alternative is just lifting the hem a little, he doesn't really want that either because the fabric would be in the way, he won't be able to see, and someone else is going to be touching him, finding his heart, and]

[(he can't)]

[He already has a death grip on his sweater when Stephen makes his move, and if a mute shake of his head doesn't get his point across (shoulders hunched, eyes averted, he's not trembling, fuck you), he'll cross his arms over his chest entirely, head shaking more vehemently. If and or when Stephen manages to find his bloodpusher, he'll definitely notice it's beating a lot faster than it probably should, and the rhythm of it is harder to pick out because of it.]

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen shifts toward him, cognizant of the lack of privacy in this building, of his own discomfort every time he thinks he sees one of the others looking a little too closely at him -- and cognizant of Karkat's blaring nonverbal signals that he is Not Okay. The movement is aborted before Stephen's done more than barely tugged at Karkat's sweater, and he sits frozen a second before shifting his weight back again, the hand with the stethoscope dropping to his own lap.

Of course. Of course. His face contorts into a pained frown, and he nods to himself at what seems hideously obvious in hindsight.]

Okay.

Alright, let's -- let's breathe. We're gonna breathe and then we're gonna figure out something else. Okay? Okay.

[He demonstrates taking in a deep breath and letting it out again, complete with a hand motion.]

For Stephen

[zunesareawesome]

[Peter hasn't said much to Stephen after they arrived, he wasn't used to this level of drudgery and endless walking, and he was tired of being so damn hungry all the time, so other than a few half-hearted lazy wisecracks he keeps to himself in a corner, listening to his Zune and falling asleep occasionally.

He does manage to catch sight of Stephen's hands, and it's not necessarily what's on them that he notices, but him quietly sliding his hands under his cloak when someone comes too near.

Hmm.

He checks his battery, and then pulls out his earbuds and hands the Zune and the earbuds over to Stephen.]

Here.

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen jerks his head up, blinking at Peter in surprise. He glances at the offered Zune and up again, trying to work out where the catch is. Slowly, he'll bring his hands back out into the open to gently take it from him and put in one of the earbuds as he clicks it on and starts flipping through the menu.]

Let me guess -- I owe you my firstborn child in trade now.

[zunesareawesome]

[He doesn't seem interested in looking at Stephen's hands at all, even though upon afterthought, if he was a mean person, that'd be an excellent way to get him to show them.

But no, instead Peter just smirks.]

Nope, just your soul for all eternity.

I'd be lousy taking care of a kid, much less your spawn.

[thewarningafter]

Ooh, more fool you. You're getting used goods.

[When he finds a song he likes, he'll press the other earbud to his tablet's microphone and turn it on to record as he listens. Waste not, want not.]

[zunesareawesome]

Still your soul. I can use it for nefarious purposes, or sell it to someone worse.

[thewarningafter]

Shh-shh-shh....

[He's recording a song, Peter.]

[zunesareawesome]

WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY?

[Yes. Peter knew how sacred saving battery was.

Annoying Stephen was more important.]

[thewarningafter]

WE WERE HAVING A NICE MOMENT, ASSHOLE!

[Peter is the worst. Just the worst.]

[zunesareawesome]

[Goal! Peter snorts and dissolves into giggles.]

Nice moments are supposed to turn into jokes, haven't you watched sitcoms or did you just read books on navigating the human spleen or dissecting frogs for extra credit after school? Sheesh. Stephanie or Deej gets lectured and then Uncle Joey comes in for the kill when the sad music stops, duh.

[mrcreamsicles]

[As much as he's been drawn to watching Stephen, it only takes a couple incidents of his hand-hiding for Davesprite to figure he ought to do something about it. He saw him take his gloves off too, earlier. Rubber gloves can't be that comfortable for long term wear.]

[So when Stephen is free again, he scoots on over, visual focus only half on him, and holds out a pair of black, leather gloves. They look hand-stitched.]

Here. If you want to borrow them for the evening.

[thewarningafter]

[They're definitely not -- but out in the open air the rubber gloves at least keep the wind off. In the tunnels it hadn't been so bad, and in here it's less about warmth than about not wanting the others to see.

He looks up at Davesprite, surprised to be approached again tonight with another offer of a loaned item -- does he look that pathetic? He just clears his throat, though, and slips one hand out to take them.]

Uh...thanks. The cold's...not great on them.

cw: dissociation, allusion to eye trauma

[mrcreamsicles]

[After perhaps the second most awkward entrance he's made into a building (float-hopping up a ladder still pales before crawling on his belly through a doghouse), it's the sight of who's on the inside of the building that really sets him off kilter. Particularly, Stephen.]

[He can see him, which is an improvement, but something in his mind goes distant and fuzzy in a way he'd sooner expect from a fight in Sburb: that do what you have to<, just survive kind of narrowing. It doesn't feel real. Noticing Peter feels like such an afterthought that he almost jumps when he does.]

[He swallows and finally manages to speak up.]

Hey.

[He's dressed like an eyesore, to say nothing of how dang orange he is on his own, but after the initial greetings are over he settles down off to the side with his things and tries to distract himself. Tablet, book, something. Nothing wants to absorb. His sunglasses hide the better part of how he keeps looking over at Stephen, as if the eyes that had picked him out in his awareness in the cells will suddenly shine through his garments beacon-clear to haunt him again. They hide the scars around his eyes, too.]

[He tries to avoid looking at the Cat, whose shaved fur leaves his scars more noticeable.]

[At some point, though, he scoots on over to Peter with a jumble of things in his hands, most obviously some kind of garment.]

Hey, you up for a trade?

[His voice is dull but even.]

I'm so sorry I'm late! *arrives with all the Starbucks*

[zunesareawesome]

[When he first sees him, Peter doesn't seem to find Davesprite's appearance strange at all, growing up with aliens meant appearances other than the human norm were old hat to him. It was still interesting to see, though, he'd never encountered a species like his, before.

When he's approached, he takes an earbud out of his ear, brows raised. Peter's messing with his Zune anyway.]


I am always so up for trades, dude. Whaddya got?

[quadrangle]

[After meeting with Stephen to get his heart checked, Karkat is fairly subdued. Having people around means he has to show some goddamn restraint where his moirail is concerned, which is annoying, but he's wary enough of Peter that he won't complain about it. Even Stephen (ARGH) isn't among his most trusted, however much he'd endeared himself by offering "verbal acid trips" while they'd been stuck in the cells, so whatever. Karkat's dealing.]

[He won't approach Peter himself, nor does he have much else to say to Stephen that wasn't covered in their conversation earlier, but he won't turn aside either if they approach. For the most part, though, he hangs out with Davesprite, pets the Cat, or spends his time buried in a certain bloodthirsty alien romance novel he'd been gifted.]

[To put it another way, he's uncharacteristically quiet, but hey, the only people likely to call him out on it already know the reasons why. So it goes.]