END GAME: THE COUNTDOWN STARTS

[sailmods]

[the prisoners wake up on cold, hard floors.

the lights are bright, glaring, a sterile cell with sterile bars facing a sterile hall. the prisoners with you, across from you, and no one else. no rocking of a ship in waves, nothing. just the prisoner and their prison.

time passes, one assumes. the rhythmic click of Friday’s heels down the hall. it’s almost like the ticking of a clock.]

Comments

[teethoftherisk]

It's later when Siffleur comes by, peeking into cells to take count of who's all here. His ears perk up when he sees Karkat.

"Nepeta is fine. She's okay, and you don't need to worry. But it's fine if you do." He expects that worrying is something Karkat has to do at all times.

[angrycrabnoises]

Karkat’s eyes widen and he grips the bars. “SIFFLEUR WHAT THE FUCK? HOW’D YOU GET OUT?”

He doesn’t comment on Nepeta, but he is definitely relieved by that information. Siffleur is right about the worrying.

[teethoftherisk]

"Friday made my bars weaker than they were, so I could bend them and get out. I'm spreading information between people." He debates, then decides that yes, this is the time to say something before it's too late. "When you and Nepeta had your dates, did you decide how you felt about her?"

[angrycrabnoises]

“OKAY SO YOU COULD GET YOURSELF OUT BUT CAN’T ACTUALLY BREAK ANYONE ELSE OUT RIGHT NOW,” he comments.

He sighs, “AND NO, WE NEVER DID. LITERALLY A DATE IN EVERY QUADRANT AND WE STILL COULDN’T FUCKING FIGURE IT OUT.”

[teethoftherisk]

"Yes, the rest of the bars are unmovable." He still gives a push on Karkat's bars, just to test them. But there's no give to them at all.

"I'm sorry. Love is difficult... the only person I've ever been certain I loved was my mother. I was never sure what it felt like with others, so I never said the words. But... I'm making myself say it now, because even if I can never be sure, I know it would hurt to lose them. Maybe you and Nepeta can't figure out what kind of quadrant your feelings are in, but it is clear that you both love each other very much." He presses a paw to the bars and makes a promise he shouldn't. "I'll do whatever I can to make sure you two can speak face to face again."

[angrycrabnoises]

Karkat doesn’t know what to say to that. He sucks in a breath through his teeth and nods.

“I DON’T KNOW IF THIS MEANS ANYTHING TO YOU,” he says finally, “BUT YOU’D MAKE A GOOD LUSUS SOMEDAY.”

[teethoftherisk]

Siffleur butts his head against the bars, chuckling softly to himself. "I means very much. I have two children in my world, and I was a terrible father to them. But if I could have been a lusus to them, we all would have been much happier."