[ ugh, look, rin thinks he's somewhat cool and karkat wants to keep that image up for as long as trolly possible. rin finding out that karkat turned a huge ass spaceship into the largest strobe light in the universe might ruin things on that front.
it'll definitely be easier to do the latter though. while a lot of the bigger predators do not typically hang around here, karkat would rather not get distracted attempting to remove metal from the wreck and have something sneak up on them. as good as a swimmer rin is, karkat is pretty sure it'd be up to him to you know. make sure they don't get maimed. ]
For someone who's so new, you are really goddamn comfortable with this whole setup.
It's just diving. I used to do this all the time as a kid.
[without any of the cool high-tech equipment or the imperative need to do so; also, without any of the predators. Rin read up on what floats around out here, but hasn't absorbed, maybe, what seeing alien lifeforms will be like in reality. there are shapes moving in the wreck, things living in it -- when Rin's light roves over them, they tend to scatter (but not all of them)]
And my grandma did it for a living.
[he swoops down suddenly, quick fins and sharp movements, finding some kind of broken-off metal door, a decent haul; he lifts it onto the drone. how's sentry duty coming?]
Without the gear, it's a lot harder. Even I couldn't hold my breath this long.
[ as they are still alive, sentry duty is going swimmingly.
but ohhh, grandma. karkat is fully informed of what a grandma is now, so he gets that reference. he is completely under the impression that grandmas are these badasses now so if one shows up and breaks their hip he will be very confused. ]
You shouldn't be that disappointed. Even with my superior physiology, I couldn't hold my breath this long either. I'm not a sea dwelling troll.
[amusement, curling at the edges, if distracted -- a telekinetic laugh at Karkat's hautiness. he really gets a kick out of this guy's insistence on trash talk]
Wait, what's superior about your physiology?
[Rin's grandma was pretty badass, as far as his prepubescent self was concerned, so he probably won't correct Karkat's misimpression. Rin in turn understands the "sea dwelling troll" mention, having heard there's a girl who mostly sleeps under the base instead of it. to be fair, it's kind of self-explanatory]
[more metal gets pushed and piled onto the drone; Rin doesn't know what half of this technology is, and has no words to describe the functions they might have played, before this place was a wreck to pick apart. some things he doesn't load onto the drone, but puts into a medium sized bag unfolded at his waist -- shiny things, organic things, mechanic things, small and intricate and maybe useful down the line. maybe that engineer guy can figure out what some of this stuff actually is]
Are you a mountain troll, or... something? If there's types.
Fuck you, I was keeping up. I am the king of keeping it up, you are just clearly jealous of my skills...
[ karkat trails off, though, watching as a stalker swims by. they can be dangerous if you're not careful, but karkat doubts it'd be a problem. he tries to quickly recall what they were talking about. right. shit talking. ]
And no I am not a fucking mountain troll? That's completely fake. It's just sea and land.
[ there are more types though, but it's by blood color and not. region where they live. karkat isn't sure if he wants to approach that topic though; he's explained the concept of the hemospectrum a few times since he's been here. it's still an uncomfortable subject though; while karkat's blood color isn't as much of a secret as it once had been, it's still something he would rather not. talk to people about. and mentioning the whole subject to someone may lead to people asking about him ]
Feferi's another troll and she's a sea dweller. You two can bond over being red for the ocean together.
[the thought is almost aggressive in its abruptness, and it's almost comical the way Rin broadcasts his immediate thought with an unintentional force]
I wanna race a sea troll.
[a-ah... that was embarrassing, like an unexpected fart. please forgive his rampant need to swim against all things swimmy. Rin attempts to divert attention from his competition-induced tourettes syndrome with a follow up question]
Is "red" land-troll for "mad"?
[as in, absolutely loony for? as in, reverse little mermaid obsessed with it? makes sense -- no metal in this stretch of creepy dark ship. Rin swims further in, the drone trundling after a little less peppily now, balancing its load]
[ ... lmao, somehow karkat isn't even surprised that was rin's immediate reaction to learning about sea trolls. they don't know each other very well yet, but from the small amount of time they've spent together karkat is pretty aware that rin seems to love the water. ]
Well I guess that's one to describe it. [ love can make people crazy, sometimes. ] Think of it more like you both want to human marry the ocean.
[ he did not forget rin's sudden declaration though. karkat follows in after him, looking back over his shoulder to make sure nothing follows them before speaking again. ]
Feferi would probably love to race you though as long as you don't start crying when she owns your ass.
I wouldn't cry, screw you. And shut up, I'm not weird, I just want to swim.
[his rival wants to human marry the ocean, thanks (though that he "just wants to swim" is probably the understatement of the year, considering swimming is the cornerstone of how he relates to people, makes friends, falls in love, goes to school, founds his self-worth, remembers his dead father, pursues his future, and chases his happiness)]
[but yeah nothing weird he just wants to swim... sure]
[the removal of a piece of metal suddenly fills the cavern with movement, as a nest of rabbit trays is revealed and startled. Rin's eyes widen, seeing the bright creatures for the first time]
Whoah...
[he isn't anticipating how friendly they are -- they swim around all three of them (Rin, Karkat, and Our Baby Drone), investigating playfully and generally getting in the way]
[ it very suddenly hits karkat that this is most likely rin's first time outside the base since his unique arrival to it. like... he knew, but it isn't until he sees rin's reaction to the alien fish that it sinks in. it's always a little weird since people react to stuff like this because karkat forgets that not everyone has had to deal with all the space/time bullshit he's had over the years. it's why he has adapted to life on the base a lot better than others, even if a lot of parts of it are aggravating. ]
They also taste pretty good.
[ KARKAT DON'T TALK ABOUT EATING THE CUTE FISH CREATURES WHEN RIN IS BEING DAZZLED BY THEM????? ]
[actually, Rin maybe surprises Karkat but not being overly sentimental about the fish's purpose in life]
Should we grab some, then? Ah, I didn't really bring any fishing gear... people on base could definitely use a protein boost, though.
[he's a fisherman's son, after all; the ocean gave so they could live. Rin half swims after a particularly friendly rabbit tray, trying to touch its fins and get a look at its shape and face. the drone carrying their shit is currently attempting to load a live rabbit tray onto its pile, which is not very successful]
[something else is stirring, deeper in the wreck, aware that there's suddenly a lot of movement. translator's note: movement means food]
[ he raises an eyebrow at the cute comment. rin keeps saying embarrassing things and it's hilarious but also very refreshing because karkat is the one who normally keeps saying embarrassing thing. the shoe being on the other foot is very a+
he watches their drone and it's a miracle his eyeballs don't fall out of their sockets with how hard he just rolls his eyes at it. ]
Some people keep them as pets? I know there are a couple in the Magister's tank to keep him company.
[ he says, just. assuming rin would know who the hell the magister is.
he does not notice the movement, too distracted by rin being rin. ]
[get your eyes off the merboy and do your job!! Rin stops being princess of the sea after a few more moments (the rabbit tray let him pet it), and goes back to work. more metal goes onto the drone which has -- amazingly -- managed to keep the rabbit tray in a friendly headlock. they seem to have reached a cease-fire agreement, or maybe the rabbit tray is dead. I guess it's coming back with them]
[having picked up everything in this area, Rin moves on, pretty agile around corners and dangerous spikes. he is not nearly as enchanted by the wormy-air bags they find in the next room, but there's a big pile of tech in the corner]
That looks promising. Know what any of this shit is?
[Rin is not used to Dangerous situations. the worst thing that could happen to him is pissing off his coach and getting exiled to land for a couple days. well, no, the worst thing that could happen was getting hit by a bus or poisoned by some grumpy Australian animal, but Rin's generally a smart kid when it comes to looking both ways before crossing the street and not interacting with Australia's wildlife too liberally. still, the fact that Rin is not anticipating danger as a default basically ever becomes instantly apparent, when Rin does not unquestioningly obey Karkat's command, rather continuing to swim closer to the pile of promising tech]
Yeah, in a minute... let me just get this onto the drone.
[the drone was born fearless, but it's directive is to follow both of them -- so it sits between them, its camera swiveling back and forth, unsure of which directive to follow. the captured rabbit tray doesn't give a shit about any of this]
[the curse is both said and aggressively thought, and Rin has just the right combination of good reflexes and good luck to kick right off the nearest groaning piece of metal, the shark missing a healthy bite of his midsection by narrow inches. his brain immediately tells him not to thrash and draw its attention further, but his brain is also telling him to get the fuck away from the fuckin sand shark. it doesn't help that the rabbit trays and air-bags are swimming all over the place now, making it hard to see how the shark's moving]
Karkat -- !
[the line of telepathy is grabbed with both hands and shaken, the swell of Rin's panic and adrenaline snapping into Karkat's head]
[ SEE THIS IS!!! THE TYPE OF BULLSHIT THAT HAPPENS WHEN NO ONE FUCKING LISTENS TO KARKAT!!!!!!!
karkat isn't the best fighter of his group, and he doesn't have the added bonus of god tier powers. the very first thing that crosses his mind when rin is attacked is oh fuck did i just get someone else killed which may or may not have been accidentally telepathically transmitted. take that as you will.
his second thought is, understandably, to make sure that does not happen. he pulls his sickles out of his sylladex, which would look as if they just appeared out of thin air (or thin water?) from rin's perspective if he saw it happen. he swims over to rin and practically yanks on his arm, pulling him away from where the shark primarily is. ]
Holy fuck, move away so you don't get eaten? I'll take care of --
[ whoops there's the shark
karkat slashes at it when it tries to go for them again, hitting it on the top of its head a little before it pulls back. yeah. he really needs to practice fighting underwater more what the fuck. ]
[yeah, that someone else killed comment was projected, but Rin's a little busy right now, trying not to die and watching his new friend attack a shark with sickles he pulled out of ??? his ass]
[Rin goes with the yank, moving/being pushed away. Karkat swings and -- gently baps it on the head, or something, for being a naughty boy. shit, and also fuck. commence a stream of telepathic curses that don't actually stop as a background to your strife, Karkat]
[for his part, Rin glances around frantically, looking for something to actually defend himself with because? he doesn't have a weapon? why would he? he's made mistakes]
[ attack the shark with the crab plushie that they have not found yet.
also don't criticize how karkat gently baps it?? he is doing more work than you are, rin, so shut up. karkat immediately attacks the sand shark again before it can go after its fellow shark person, aka rin. he manages to get a decent size cut in, on the fish's side. so there's probably a lot of blood mixed in with the water now, so that's a thing. ]
What the fuck did you do to piss it off? It keeps trying to get to you!
[ probably since it realized rin is the easier prey. ]
[yeah, that's all Karkat's getting in terms of telepathy for the moment; Rin absurdly continues barely avoiding the shark's snapping jaws, and the introduction of blood to the water does nothing to calm him. which is part of the problem, therefore he instructs himself to take a breath and]
Think, think!
[there's no weapon he can pick up in the area. most things here are too heavy to lift without proper leverage, that's why they brought the stupid drone -- ]
The drone --
[and Rin takes over the controls of the heavy-lifting little bot, sending it explicit directives to unload some of that metal in the near future. if the shark would just stay in one general place for a second -- ]
[ karkat is so used to being in battle situations with people who actually know how to fight that. rin not knowing what to do is such a ????? moment, like what the heck. ]
Oh sure, I love being bait! It's in my top ten of favorite things to be, right after stabbed to death and comatose! Thanks for letting me fulfill my dreams, Rin.
[ he still does it though, making trying to block the shark from moving towards rin again.
seriously he is so going to practice fighting underwater after this wtf ]
[Rin has a moment to madly think fucking hell he's a sarcastic shit even when he's about to get eaten which maybe gives away how confident he is feeling in his plan (an even 40% success rate). still, as Karkat blocks the shark from killing him (oh my god?), Rin guides the drone up, up, and over snarling teeth and certain death -- ]
[ -- and has it release the topmost sheets of scrap metal over the sand shark. one bounces off its fine, too small, one misses completely, too weird-shaped, and one -- ]
[ -- shunks graphically through the back of the shark like it's a magician's lovely assistant under the saw, splitting it into two. furls of blood and dying shark ensue. enjoy the shark guts right in your face, floating around. nature is a beautiful mystery]
Are you okay...?
[Rin wants to barf, yell, and run a mile. his heart is never going to slow down]
he is more or less used to terrible deaths so he isn't that bothered by the gruesome shark death, but he just is not a fan of blood, ugh. he makes a face at it before turning his attention back to rin.
gotta make sure the new best bro is okay. ]
Who the hell cares about me, are you okay? It almost got you!
It's fine. -- No, it's not fine, I'm totally freaked out. Fuck. You saved my ass, Karkat, holy shit.
[he swims forward, grabbing reflexively onto one of Karkat's arms. the drone putputs back down closer to them, as if its not a murderer now. prison will change it]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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it'll definitely be easier to do the latter though. while a lot of the bigger predators do not typically hang around here, karkat would rather not get distracted attempting to remove metal from the wreck and have something sneak up on them. as good as a swimmer rin is, karkat is pretty sure it'd be up to him to you know. make sure they don't get maimed. ]
For someone who's so new, you are really goddamn comfortable with this whole setup.
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[without any of the cool high-tech equipment or the imperative need to do so; also, without any of the predators. Rin read up on what floats around out here, but hasn't absorbed, maybe, what seeing alien lifeforms will be like in reality. there are shapes moving in the wreck, things living in it -- when Rin's light roves over them, they tend to scatter (but not all of them)]
And my grandma did it for a living.
[he swoops down suddenly, quick fins and sharp movements, finding some kind of broken-off metal door, a decent haul; he lifts it onto the drone. how's sentry duty coming?]
Without the gear, it's a lot harder. Even I couldn't hold my breath this long.
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but ohhh, grandma. karkat is fully informed of what a grandma is now, so he gets that reference. he is completely under the impression that grandmas are these badasses now so if one shows up and breaks their hip he will be very confused. ]
You shouldn't be that disappointed. Even with my superior physiology, I couldn't hold my breath this long either. I'm not a sea dwelling troll.
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Wait, what's superior about your physiology?
[Rin's grandma was pretty badass, as far as his prepubescent self was concerned, so he probably won't correct Karkat's misimpression. Rin in turn understands the "sea dwelling troll" mention, having heard there's a girl who mostly sleeps under the base instead of it. to be fair, it's kind of self-explanatory]
[more metal gets pushed and piled onto the drone; Rin doesn't know what half of this technology is, and has no words to describe the functions they might have played, before this place was a wreck to pick apart. some things he doesn't load onto the drone, but puts into a medium sized bag unfolded at his waist -- shiny things, organic things, mechanic things, small and intricate and maybe useful down the line. maybe that engineer guy can figure out what some of this stuff actually is]
Are you a mountain troll, or... something? If there's types.
[is that a rude question?]
[maybe not, but the trash talk following is]
So that's why you couldn't keep up...
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[ karkat trails off, though, watching as a stalker swims by. they can be dangerous if you're not careful, but karkat doubts it'd be a problem. he tries to quickly recall what they were talking about. right. shit talking. ]
And no I am not a fucking mountain troll? That's completely fake. It's just sea and land.
[ there are more types though, but it's by blood color and not. region where they live. karkat isn't sure if he wants to approach that topic though; he's explained the concept of the hemospectrum a few times since he's been here. it's still an uncomfortable subject though; while karkat's blood color isn't as much of a secret as it once had been, it's still something he would rather not. talk to people about. and mentioning the whole subject to someone may lead to people asking about him ]
Feferi's another troll and she's a sea dweller. You two can bond over being red for the ocean together.
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I wanna race a sea troll.
[a-ah... that was embarrassing, like an unexpected fart. please forgive his rampant need to swim against all things swimmy. Rin attempts to divert attention from his competition-induced tourettes syndrome with a follow up question]
Is "red" land-troll for "mad"?
[as in, absolutely loony for? as in, reverse little mermaid obsessed with it? makes sense -- no metal in this stretch of creepy dark ship. Rin swims further in, the drone trundling after a little less peppily now, balancing its load]
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Well I guess that's one to describe it. [ love can make people crazy, sometimes. ] Think of it more like you both want to human marry the ocean.
[ he did not forget rin's sudden declaration though. karkat follows in after him, looking back over his shoulder to make sure nothing follows them before speaking again. ]
Feferi would probably love to race you though as long as you don't start crying when she owns your ass.
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[his rival wants to human marry the ocean, thanks (though that he "just wants to swim" is probably the understatement of the year, considering swimming is the cornerstone of how he relates to people, makes friends, falls in love, goes to school, founds his self-worth, remembers his dead father, pursues his future, and chases his happiness)]
[but yeah nothing weird he just wants to swim... sure]
[the removal of a piece of metal suddenly fills the cavern with movement, as a nest of rabbit trays is revealed and startled. Rin's eyes widen, seeing the bright creatures for the first time]
Whoah...
[he isn't anticipating how friendly they are -- they swim around all three of them (Rin, Karkat, and Our Baby Drone), investigating playfully and generally getting in the way]
These things are so cool...
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They also taste pretty good.
[ KARKAT DON'T TALK ABOUT EATING THE CUTE FISH CREATURES WHEN RIN IS BEING DAZZLED BY THEM????? ]
"touch"
Should we grab some, then? Ah, I didn't really bring any fishing gear... people on base could definitely use a protein boost, though.
[he's a fisherman's son, after all; the ocean gave so they could live. Rin half swims after a particularly friendly rabbit tray, trying to touch its fins and get a look at its shape and face. the drone carrying their shit is currently attempting to load a live rabbit tray onto its pile, which is not very successful]
[something else is stirring, deeper in the wreck, aware that there's suddenly a lot of movement. translator's note: movement means food]
They're kind of cute....
[probably accidental projection there]
how dare u check to see what i fixed
he watches their drone and it's a miracle his eyeballs don't fall out of their sockets with how hard he just rolls his eyes at it. ]
Some people keep them as pets? I know there are a couple in the Magister's tank to keep him company.
[ he says, just. assuming rin would know who the hell the magister is.
he does not notice the movement, too distracted by rin being rin. ]
freudian slips everywhere
[get your eyes off the merboy and do your job!! Rin stops being princess of the sea after a few more moments (the rabbit tray let him pet it), and goes back to work. more metal goes onto the drone which has -- amazingly -- managed to keep the rabbit tray in a friendly headlock. they seem to have reached a cease-fire agreement, or maybe the rabbit tray is dead. I guess it's coming back with them]
[having picked up everything in this area, Rin moves on, pretty agile around corners and dangerous spikes. he is not nearly as enchanted by the wormy-air bags they find in the next room, but there's a big pile of tech in the corner]
That looks promising. Know what any of this shit is?
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[ that sounds like a compliment but it's literally what URSULA named the species. she isn't the most creative ai tbh.
karkat approaches it and... no... he isn't dirk, his specialty isn't tech. maybe if he checked out the
wait.
did something just move? karkat squints in that direction, wondering if it was another one of the harmless fish. ]
Hey dumbass, come over to where I am.
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Yeah, in a minute... let me just get this onto the drone.
[the drone was born fearless, but it's directive is to follow both of them -- so it sits between them, its camera swiveling back and forth, unsure of which directive to follow. the captured rabbit tray doesn't give a shit about any of this]
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Yeah that's fucking cool. Just do the exact opposite of what I just said, that's completely fine.
[ ugh maybe he just imagined it? he slowly goes after rin, wondering if maybe his paranoia is just acting up.
and that's when the fuckin sand shark lunges at rin. ]
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[the curse is both said and aggressively thought, and Rin has just the right combination of good reflexes and good luck to kick right off the nearest groaning piece of metal, the shark missing a healthy bite of his midsection by narrow inches. his brain immediately tells him not to thrash and draw its attention further, but his brain is also telling him to get the fuck away from the fuckin sand shark. it doesn't help that the rabbit trays and air-bags are swimming all over the place now, making it hard to see how the shark's moving]
Karkat -- !
[the line of telepathy is grabbed with both hands and shaken, the swell of Rin's panic and adrenaline snapping into Karkat's head]
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karkat isn't the best fighter of his group, and he doesn't have the added bonus of god tier powers. the very first thing that crosses his mind when rin is attacked is oh fuck did i just get someone else killed which may or may not have been accidentally telepathically transmitted. take that as you will.
his second thought is, understandably, to make sure that does not happen. he pulls his sickles out of his sylladex, which would look as if they just appeared out of thin air (or thin water?) from rin's perspective if he saw it happen. he swims over to rin and practically yanks on his arm, pulling him away from where the shark primarily is. ]
Holy fuck, move away so you don't get eaten? I'll take care of --
[ whoops there's the shark
karkat slashes at it when it tries to go for them again, hitting it on the top of its head a little before it pulls back. yeah. he really needs to practice fighting underwater more what the fuck. ]
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[Rin goes with the yank, moving/being pushed away. Karkat swings and -- gently baps it on the head, or something, for being a naughty boy. shit, and also fuck. commence a stream of telepathic curses that don't actually stop as a background to your strife, Karkat]
[for his part, Rin glances around frantically, looking for something to actually defend himself with because? he doesn't have a weapon? why would he? he's made mistakes]
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also don't criticize how karkat gently baps it?? he is doing more work than you are, rin, so shut up. karkat immediately attacks the sand shark again before it can go after its fellow shark person, aka rin. he manages to get a decent size cut in, on the fish's side. so there's probably a lot of blood mixed in with the water now, so that's a thing. ]
What the fuck did you do to piss it off? It keeps trying to get to you!
[ probably since it realized rin is the easier prey. ]
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[yeah, that's all Karkat's getting in terms of telepathy for the moment; Rin absurdly continues barely avoiding the shark's snapping jaws, and the introduction of blood to the water does nothing to calm him. which is part of the problem, therefore he instructs himself to take a breath and]
Think, think!
[there's no weapon he can pick up in the area. most things here are too heavy to lift without proper leverage, that's why they brought the stupid drone -- ]
The drone --
[and Rin takes over the controls of the heavy-lifting little bot, sending it explicit directives to unload some of that metal in the near future. if the shark would just stay in one general place for a second -- ]
Try to keep it in that corner be careful fuck!
[three thoughts at once]
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Oh sure, I love being bait! It's in my top ten of favorite things to be, right after stabbed to death and comatose! Thanks for letting me fulfill my dreams, Rin.
[ he still does it though, making trying to block the shark from moving towards rin again.
seriously he is so going to practice fighting underwater after this wtf ]
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[ -- and has it release the topmost sheets of scrap metal over the sand shark. one bounces off its fine, too small, one misses completely, too weird-shaped, and one -- ]
[ -- shunks graphically through the back of the shark like it's a magician's lovely assistant under the saw, splitting it into two. furls of blood and dying shark ensue. enjoy the shark guts right in your face, floating around. nature is a beautiful mystery]
Are you okay...?
[Rin wants to barf, yell, and run a mile. his heart is never going to slow down]
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he is more or less used to terrible deaths so he isn't that bothered by the gruesome shark death, but he just is not a fan of blood, ugh. he makes a face at it before turning his attention back to rin.
gotta make sure the new best bro is okay. ]
Who the hell cares about me, are you okay? It almost got you!
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[he swims forward, grabbing reflexively onto one of Karkat's arms. the drone putputs back down closer to them, as if its not a murderer now. prison will change it]
We should get outta here.
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he figures he can come back with the drone later to pick up anything they might have missed out on. ]
I guess. Before any more come and try to pick a fight with EVE.
[ that is what karkat has decided to name the drone. after the wall-e character. ]
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