hypertoxic | [week two

[week two - sunday]

[ Vriska doesn't let them leave till late. Late. She bugs and bugs and bugs Jinah to sleep before they go, but regardless of whether or not Jinah catches a wink, Vriska will be bustling them both out the door of their hut at just about 3 AM on the nose. Late enough that most everybody will be asleep, and not early enough for the 4/5 AM early birds to be getting up just yet. It is pitch black aside from the faint light of the moon and stars, and luckily, because trolls are nocturnal, Vriska can see in the dark passingly well. Well enough that they don't need to light a torch and give away their movements. ]

I'll guide us, [ she'll whisper to Jinah. ] Hang onto me and trust me, ok? I know where we're going.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Vriska's words ease her anxiety, just a little. But the concern does not leave her face. The jungle seems to almost hum with life, leaving her on edge. ]

No I think that's fine, I don't think we should go out further than we have to.

[ They walk in relative quiet, and now that they are a distance away from the huts and any ears that could possibly hear she says what's been on her mind for the past day. ]

I thought my heart was going to explode when they started asking about the things we got from home.

Alright.

[ Uncharacteristically, Vriska too will stay quiet as they walk. Maybe it's out of an overabundance of caution. Maybe she's waiting for Jinah to talk. It'll be hard to tell in the dark. But when Jinah mentions the trial, Vriska will glance at her, her white eyes lamplike in the dim island night. ]

I know. I was freaking out! I thought for sure we were toast. Yato being a complete idiot really saved our asses. We can't afford the same mistake twice. There will probably be less of a focus on "evidence" next week, given what the Chiefs said at the end of the trial, but we should still be prepared for some nosy busybody to ask about it anyway.

[ She feels bad for Yato, it's a quiet twinge of guilt prickling the back of her throat. She hadn't played any part in any of the deaths but she'd written his name down with little remorse at the time.

At the end of the day she feels bad for Yato, but she feels relieved it wasn't her. ]

Vriska-- [ She sounds a little more serious, a little less reserved. ]

I'm not going to tell you what to do-- I don't think you would listen anyway if I'm being honest.

[ Vriska sort of marched to the beat of her own drum, and if anything it seemed like telling her what to do would just make her do the opposite (it's something she can relate to, but in this context it was a little worrying) ]

But if evidence isn't going to be a big deal at these trials, you need to be a little more careful about how you interact with people.

[ She doesn't want to say be nicer but..]

You could be a little nicer-- allies aren't a bad thing.

[ .........

Vriska will slow the two of them to a stop and, for a lone moment, not respond. She just gently removes Jinah's hand from her arm and paces over to the edge of the path, crouching down and examining the roots of a particular tree.

Eventually, after some poking and prodding, she'll stand and move back to Jinah, urging her over to the tree with a hand on the other girl's shoulder. It's not forceful, just guiding. ]

It's not like I don't know that. [ Low, annoyed. ] I am pretty ready for someone to pin a murder on me thanks to the whole genocide thing and my shitty attitude. It's... I don't know. It's stupid. All of this.

[ Once they stop, Vriska will motion for Jinah to sit. She's gonna have to dig a hole for this knife and it will take some time. ]

Maybe I'm the stupid one. It's not like I know another way to be.

[ She lets herself be guided, a little lifeless outside of the moments where Vriska lets go. It makes her tense noticeably when she does.

She can't really see Vriska's face, not the expressions shes making at least. But her voice is enough, it tugs at something in her chest and makes her eyes sting just a bit. ]

You're not stupid.

[ She does not sit down like Vriska asks, but takes a step forward instead. ]

I didn't read any of those things, but I know a lot of the others did. You know what though? We've all done bad things, that's why we're here.

[ They have a knife to worry about, but she won't be able to rest until she says her piece. She takes another step towards Vriska, trying not to make too much noise. ]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come off the way that it did. I know you're doing your best, and I can't ask for anything more than that. But I guess? Just remember that you're not doing this on your own! I know there are other people you get along with here-- so please? Let all of us help you when the time comes.

[ She tries to do something; clasp her hands, give her a hug. At the end it doesn't really matter what she was trying to do, because she takes one misstep and ends up on the ground with a quiet thud. Clumsy + Dark + Jungle terrain was a bad combination to say the least. ]

[ Literally like doesn't say a word until Jinah just kind of falls on her ass. Throughout that entire friendleader speech she's just quiet, and of course Jinah won't be able to see her face.

But with a sigh she'll settle on the ground beside her teammate once Jinah's, like, fallen down, and start to dig into the ground with her bare hands. The jungle soil is pliable and damp, and easy to move without tools. ]

It's real, Jinah. The genocide thing.

[ Why is she saying this. Why is she selling herself out to the one person whose esteem she really needs to keep?

Is she just that hopeful that Jinah will still accept her? ]

I have committed real, actual genocide. I mean, something like it, I guess. Genocide is kind of a strong word. But regardless, I have killed a lot of people.

[ ... ]

Still want to help me?

[ It takes her a bit but she manages to sit up eventually with minimal groaning. It's awhile before she answers. There's just the stillness of the jungle and the sound of Vriska digging.

But then she scooches forward, dig sher own hands into the dirt, helping Vriska unearth soil and build a grave for the knife. ]

He killed me with this once.

[ This, the knife. She doesn't specify but it goes without saying. ]

Sometimes it wasn't with the knife, sometimes it was other ways. When it was all over they asked me if I forgave him-- and I didn't. But you know what--

[ Her voice is soft, like she's recounting a fond anecdote. There are moments where the bitterness about her situation seeps into the story, but this is not one of them. ]

I still love him. And I don't think he's a bad person. I know he was just doing his best.

[ Finally, she looks up. She can't see Vriska too well but she smiles anyway. ]

Doing bad things doesn't make you a bad person. You've been kind to me, the only thing I can judge you off of is that.

[ A grave for this knife, hidden in the roots of a tree. Vriska is eying Jinah, but she doesn't stop the other girl from helping, much as she'd intended to do this part alone. ]

So ... what, time travel? You're a time traveler, and you've experienced being killed a bunch of times? By a dude you still care about? Usually brutal murder is a dealbreaker for most people.

[ ... ]

I could be using you. Putting up a front. What then? What if it's all just a ruse?

[ She feels no venom in Vriska's words but they still sting. Remind her of a faraway place where something far too similar was repeated and thrown in her face.

But Vriska is not that person, those people. So she bites her tongue. ]

If you are, then you are. I don't believe it, but it's my choice to have faith in you.

[ She goes back to digging, thinks vaguely about how ugly her nails will look when all of this is done. ]

If you're lying to me, then I'll die and the others will call me stupid when I do. But I don't care, it's my choice to trust you and you can't take that away from me.

[ She is firm, but not angry in how she speaks. She tries not to look at the knife; wrapped in her sweater, sitting beside her, it feels almost like another person watching them dig. ]

[ Vriska will pause in her digging, sitting back on her heels to stare down at this stupid hole they're digging for Jinah's stupid knife that apparently she's been killed by before. Like, alright. ]

Don't be stupid. I'm not letting anything happen to you.

[ ...

Slowly she resumes digging. With both of them working on it, it's already almost big enough. ]

I don't, like. Know how to be a good friend. But I guess I will try.

[ It's Jinah who stops digging this time. She sort of just sits there, slack-jawed, watching Vriska dig on her own.

And then she smiles a self-satisfied sort of smile. She's not sure how well Vriska can see her face, but her smile very much reeks of 'Haha I knew you were good!!'.

When she's had her fill of that she goes back to digging. ]

You could have yelled at me, you could have dealt with this on your own since I'm more of a hassle to bring than anything else. But you're here with me, helping me hide it and asking me what I want. You're already a good friend Vriska.

[ The hole has become rather deep now, she can't see very far down it but she can feel herself have to reach down farther and farther to dig. ]

For the record, I do believe I've died. More than once, actually. I've told some of the others but I don't really know how much they believed me. I think most just felt bad for me.

... asking you what you want, huh.

[ Vriska echoes the words under her breath, but doesn't follow up in any significant way. It's probably a good thing it's so dark and human vision is shitty in conditions like this. Jinah probably can't see the look on her face. ]

You're not alone, sister. I have died my fair share of times! Though I think you probably win that particularly shitty competition, based on what you've told me.

[ She busies herself with unwrapping the knife. never letting it touch her skin, holding it by the cloth of her sweater even after she unwraps it. ]

I'm sorry people have hurt you that way Vriska.

[ It's not pity.. but a sort of understanding of what such a thing entailed. ]

If anything ever happens to you here, I'll fight for you, you know. It would be better to say that I'm going to protect you, but I'm not very strong or very smart in these kinds of situations.

[ She takes her time in dropping the knife into the hole. She doesn't let it fall, but guides it down with her sweater acting like a little makeshift elevator. ]

It seems like the both of us have really bad luck.. so we might not win this game or whatever it is. But I'm going to try despite that.

[ It strikes her suddenly that Karkat would know what to say. She hasn't seen that guy in eons but his face instantly rises to her mind. He was all about this emotional garbage, watching his girly movies and shouting unsolicited romantic advice for hours straight. But he would know what to say to Jinah right now. Some longwinded bullshit diatribe all about what great friends they'll be and what he'll do to help her and what she can do to help him and all that kind of cute, dumb stuff.

Except maybe it wasn't so dumb?

Maybe she is just too emotionally stupid for this. She doesn't have the least god damn clue about how to handle someone like Jinah in her life, just unassumingly caring about her no matter how bad her past crimes.

No one has ever shown her unconditional care before. Not a single person. There was always some exception. Some caveat. Can she believe this? Is it worth it? ]

... if you want to help me, you can. I'll tell you if I think of something. All I need you to do for right now is believe in what I'm doing.

[ She'll look at Jinah in the dark, her eyes so white. ]

I am going to win.

[ And that, apparently, is that. With the knife now safely in the hole, Vriska will begin shoveling dirt back over it. They'll need to make this look as clean as possible. It's doubtful anyone would notice this even if they did a shit job of burying it, but Vriska isn't taking chances. ]

[ Her gaze lingers on Vriska long after Vriska herself has looked away. There are many things she wants to say, and perhaps later she will pry.

Her hands are back in the dirt, soil slowly but surely erasing a thin sliver of silver from the earth. ]

It feels a little like I'm burying him.

[ She says, quietly. Laughing a little because she thinks she might cry otherwise-- and the tears wouldn't just be for him, but for Vriska too. She's shared very little about her life and her motivations, but there is something in the way she speaks that feels so familiar and makes her feel like she understands just a little. ]

I hope we don't have to bury anyone else while we're here.

[ The knife is in the ground, and the dirt has erased any sign that it was ever here. Perhaps now Ukyo won't appear in her dreams anymore. Perhaps he will finally find peace somewhere. ]

... we will, Jinah.

[ Vriska's voice is so soft.

Carefully, careful to the point of nigh-extreme paranoia, Vriska pats the dirt smooth. She even gathers detritus from the jungle floor, scattering it over the earth they disturbed. The spot is now completely indistinguishable from any other piece of jungle floor. The knife may as well be gone, as far as the rest of the island is concerned.

Vriska will get to her feet, but she reaches out to Jinah as she does, lightly gripping the other girl's arms to help balance and guide her. ]

For what it's worth, I won't let a single fucker on this island make you a person we bury. Now come on, let's get back.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[week two - sunday]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject