Mallstuck OR New Kids in the City

[sleepZombie]

"It's just ahead, I think. Oh, oh yeah, there it is!"

Tavros wheeled himself forward a little ways, not wanting Gamzee to have to always do all the work for him, and stopped in front of the gigantic building he'd found with Nepeta. He looked back over his shoulder, smiling with a touch of excitement back at the other troll. "This is where, uh, we got our new clothes! And, there are a lot of other things in here as well. I think, I remember Nepeta buying something that, she said she could talk to everyone with."

After finding Gamzee on the beach (and admitting feelings that were far more red for each other than Tavros would have ever guessed or hoped to be possible) they had found a little motel to stay in. It over looked the sea and they'd spent a lot of time just kind of talking together and laying side by side. Tavros hadn't been sure when he'd drifted off, but when he woke up Gamzee was close by, an arm thrown over his chest and drooling slightly on the pillow.

They had decided that the next thing to do was to go to the grand shopping district that Tavros remembered, if anything to perhaps just get a feel for the way this land seemed to be.

"I bet, we could find you something that looked really nice. And also, probably something for us to be able to use and talk to our friends with."

[kisashika]

Gamzee trotted up lazily behind Tavros and set a hand on the other Troll's shoulder when they stopped. "Whoa, this place is motherfucking huge!" Gamzee said, amazed. "So, like, we can buy stuff here? That's cool. Wonder what all kind of weird shit they've got."

If Gamzee seemed a bit more slow and tired than usual, it's because he was. He spent a good most of the night watching his matesprit sleep and relishing is the waves of feelings he felt; he was way to happy to get a good amount of sleep.

He let out a low chuckle then spoke. "Well, lets go in and find this motherfucker some new duds, brother." He started to walk again, slow, making sure he didn't get too far ahead of the other.

[shiftyPotentate]

Nepeta had met her third friend in a row! She left him around the apartment complex, and asked him to meet up with her later, at the communal mall!

She decided to head back there to find out what all kinds of neat loot she could find. She doubted they would have any but if possible, she wanted her sylladex back!

As she walked to it, she saw two familiar people! One of which she already met, Tavros! But the other...

Oh god. The other...

It was Gamzee. He was with Tavros... He wouldn't...

Then she saw Gamzee put his hand on his shoulder. Well... it was a start, but to be sure, she decided a pounce was in order. If for no other reason than to restrain him until she knew!

She prowled up behind the two, stalking Gamzee, getting closer and closer, remembering the scar on her neck. She dearly hoped he was back to normal. She wanted to be able to forgive him...

[nintendonut1]

After meeting up with Dave, which was such a delight, John had pretty much spent the rest of the day exploring the island from the skies above. He got a better look at and marveled the flat deserts and rocky mountains out west, the fresh acres of bonsai out east, the lush jungles down south, and the snowy mountains up north. He met and chatted with the denizens here and there, and unlike what he was used to, they were all so different! It was to be expected, of course, but still fascinating!

He had come to the motel much later than the two trolls, not until he was too exhausted to explore much longer. Grateful for a bed in what seemed like forever, John concluded his big day with a happy flop on the matress, finding sleep instantly.

Now, wide awake, he was pestered by Nepeta about an hour earlier, and they arranged to meet at the mall after she secured an apartment. He remembered his Earthian malls fondly, and hoped this was no less impressive.

And it didn't disappoint.

"Whew!" John could see it long before he touched the ground, thoroughly impressed. "Man, this city has everything!"

A wheelchair some ways away caught his eye, as he remembered the other troll he'd met so far. "...oh! Hey!" he called out, trotting over. "Hey, Tavros!"

[sleepZombie]

Tavros had begun wheeling after Gamzee, still feeling warm tingles from where the other had touched his shoulder, a little smile on his face, when he heard his name called. Tavros stopped, swivling around as best as he could in his chair to glance backwards. He saw a pleasantly familiar sight - the John human who had also arrived on this strange place!

"John! Oh, Gamzee!" He turned back around, calling out to the Capricorn. "It's, uh, it's the John human. From Earth. Did, uh, did you meet the humans?" This time stuff was kind of confusing...

He turned his chair so he was facing sideways, easily able to look back and forth between the two. "John this is, Gamzee. Uh, m-my. My." He stuttered, face coloring coppery. Pride swelled up in his chest but... but ohgosh it was kind of something huge to just out there and announce to the world. "Best friend, and, uh, m-matesprit." His voice dipped down shyly as he finally said it, looking down at his lap intensely, because that was the only way he'd be able to say it.

[kisashika]

He stopped and turned around when Tavros mentioned John. "Oh, yeah, I remember this chill motherfucker. Hey John, brother." Gamzee gave a curt smile and waved lazily at the human. He wasn't too sure if this was the same John he knew or some other John, but either way, he was glad to see another familiar face on this huge island. All his focus was on Tavros and the human, so Gamzee was oblivious to the feline Troll sneaking up behind him.

"Didn't expect to see you here, man."

Gamzee couldn't help but chuckle at Tavros' reaction to telling their friend the news and grinned like a fool. He adored Tavros so much, even if the Troll was shy.

[shiftyPotentate]

Well, he certainly seemed friendly enough. But she still had to be sure. So with that, she leapt!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. She remembered Equius, how they hid out from Gamzee. She remembered crawling through grates, and seeing Gamzee murder Equius.
She remembered the smile on her moirail's face. Why on Alternia was he smiling about that?
She remembered leaping at him in a similar manner to now. He'd caught her. Her wrist still hurt a bit from that.
He'd intentionally wounded himself with her claws, he still had faint scars from that.

This time, one way or another, it'd be different. She latched onto his upper body, holding his arms to his sides, and said nothing, yet, simply grabbing onto him and holding on!

[nintendonut1]

"Oh! You're Gamzee? Wow, it's great to meet you!" John greeted back, turning back to Tavros as he hesitated to explain further. He tilted his head a bit in confusion, still a little uncertain of the troll quadrents.

"Matesprit? ....oh. Oh!! Oh, you mean the heart quadrent?" he asked with a grin, tracing the said heart shape with his fingers in the air. He glanced between the two of them, and his grin grew soft and warm. "Aw, you guys, that is just the best. I'm happy for you guys, really!"

He was about to reach out and bring them close together by the shoulders, but was stopped short when the cat troll latched onto Gamzee. The heir jumped back a bit, landing next to Tavros' side. "Whoa! Uh... hey, Nep!"

[sleepZombie]

Tavros had a pleased flush from John's reaction to the news. Telling the human had not been a bad idea. Most other thoughts were dashed form his mind, however, when Nepeta suddenly sprung from apparently no where and latched onto Gamzee. Tavros visibly spasmed in fright, shoulders hunching up as he unconsciously slid down in his chair a bit, eyes wide as he stared at her. What was she...

"Uh, Nepeta. It's good to see you again. I'm sure, that, if you wanted to hug Gamzee that much... he would have been okay with it, if you'd have asked." He smiled, trying to be helpful and glad to see that she was at least happy to see someone they had both thought would not be there.

Looking around Tavros noticed that the group had pretty much assembled, pleased to see that they made a nice group. He felt safe and content with these friends all around him. Maybe being here on this Dimensional Island would not be as bad as he thought it would at first. "W-Wow. We're all here. Uhh, are you guys, going shopping too? Because, it would probably be really fun, if we were all together, I bet."

[kisashika]

"Heh, thanks man." Gamzee grinned from ear to ear. "So, we gonna-" He was cut off by Nepeta's latching onto his back, he tried to wiggle his arms- but she held on tight.

At first, Gamzee wasn't too sure who it was, until John and Tavros said her name, then he froze up. Yeah, he remembered that Tavros said she was here, but he didn't expect to see Nepeta this soon; Gamzee only hoped at this point that it wasn't the same Nepeta he....

"W-whoah, hey there, sister." He craned his head to the side, trying to get a good look at her, but Nepeta was quite smaller than him, so it was difficult to see more than the tips her horns. "If you wanted a hug, you know this motherfucker is always up for giving those." He wobbled a bit to the side, since his balance was thrown off.

"You don't gotta be all stalking me and stuff."

[shiftyPotentate]

He certainly seemed calmer, so Nepeta let go of him and swung around in front of him to face him. Sure enough, she could see the scratches her claws had left on his face. That meant this Gamzee had already killed her and Equius.

But he'd calmed down. Maybe he didn't mean to do it?

Her moirail was dead. But if he was truly sorry...

She tried to subtly let her jacket come down, her neck scar showing. "Sorry, Gamzee, I just wanted to... be furriendly. If that's okay..." She tried to hide the look of hurt in her eyes at the memory of Equius, but... she couldn't. She choked up a little too.

She shook her head, this wasn't acceptable, she shouldn't drag her friends' feelings down with her! So she bottled up her emotions again, to let them out later.

[nintendonut1]

"Sounds great! I don't know if I'll get much, but I still really wanted to check the place out," John replied to Tavros. "Just to see what kind of... stuff... they have."

He faltered a bit at the exchange between Gamzee and Nepeta. Both of them seemed either guilty, mournful, or just plain tense, and they were both broadcasting their scars from whatever previous altercation he was unaware of. Just what had happened between them?

John was so very tempted to ask, but thought better of it. It seemed painful, and they came here to have a good time, not revisit bad memories. That should be saved for another time.

"...um," he awkwardly interjected. "Do we...wanna head inside?"

[sleepZombie]

Tavros could probably feel the tension even more acutely than John, that special, budding relationship of red feelings between him and Gamzee meaning a more perceptive almost link to the other troll. But really mostly it was just that he was always watching Gamzee, knew his expressions, the way he stood. He'd spent forever with him. He knew him better than he knew his own self, probably.

"Yes, let's go and, explore inside a bit. Since, we, uh, Nepeta and I that is, did not see much of the interior before." He watched as the cat-like troll disengaged from Gamzee, trying to replace the concerned look on his face with a smile. It ended up just kind of looking forced and like he was sitting on something uncomfortable.

"Gamzee. I'm kind of tired, so, maybe you could p-pu-push me?" His face was a dull orange by the time he managed to finish his question. Anyone who knew him knew that he usually really didn't like being pushed by others - if there was one thing he could manage to do for himself it'd always be to get around. It had probably been the only reason he hadn't gotten culled as soon as the accident happened. He bit his lip lightly, looking towards the Capricorn, hoping he would come close so that Tavros could reach out and comfort him, even if it was just to put his hand over Gamzee's.

[kisashika]

Everything about him was tense- his posture, his expression, his body- Gamzee was mortified when he caught sight of the eerily perfect scar that encircled Nepeta's neck, fully remembering that he did that. Gamzee Makara was the one who caused that mark, that pain, and he knew that any hatred the other felt towards him was completely justified.

Tentatively, his hand reached up to trace over the indigo scars that crossed his own face. There was a horrible feeling deep in his gut and Gamzee felt like he was going to be sick. Flashes came back to him in short bursts and he took a small step back from Nepeta.

He wanted so badly to apologize to her, for what he did, and hoped deep down that the Leo would forgive him, even though she had every right to be angry. Gamzee had opened his mouth to speak, but both John and Tavros interjected before words could even form on his tongue.

"S-sure, Tavros." His voice seemed unusually strained, he hadn't expected such a derailment in his thoughts- but when it came down to it, Tavros came first. "Maybe we can, uh, find someplace cool to chill after this.... Shopping thing." Gamzee headed towards his matesprit, still tensed up, and stood next to him, not really willing to initiate the walk towards the door. He felt extremely ill about being so close to the feline Troll.

His arms drooped at his sides, feeling heavy, before he reached up and grabbed the handles of Tavros' wheelchair.

[shiftyPotentate]

Nepeta wanted to talk to Gamzee about it, deeply wanted to forgive and forget, but John and Tavros interjected. She resigned herself to looking away from the others, a glum look on her face.

She was standing next to the troll who'd killed her and her moirail. Troll culture was clear: she was perfectly in the right to kill Gamzee back. Even the harshest legislacerator would agree, it was deserved. And deep down, a part of her wanted to. The same primal part of her that'd taken over when she saw Equius die.

But for fear of herself, she pushed that down to the depths of herself. She couldn't afford to be that harsh, her lusus hadn't raised her that way. She put on a happy face, and to the average passerby, everything was fine.

But looking closely, one could tell it was forced. A mask.

Feeling uncomfortable with Tavros and Gamzee, she instead wandered close to John, unconsciously. She didn't realize it but her arm had looped around his, and was holding it tight to her, like a security blanket. She was shaking a little too.

She was terrified. Not of Gamzee.

Of herself.