Homestuck Afterbound

Act 8 Part 5

  "I'm sorry again about barging in on you." Tareli said scratching the back of her head with a weak smile. "It's no trouble, Karkat has said good things about Gracer and you are very kind." Kanaya smiled. While throwing clothes into the washer. "I'm glad that everyone is safe, I didn't expect it to rain today." Kanaya looked out the window as thunder crashed. A shriek was heard through the hive. "Oh dang it, I almost forgot!" Tareli ran up the stairs into her room to find Gracer hiding under the covers. "Gracer are you okay!?" Tareli asked her Morial. "No!" Gracer said as she shivered. Tareli looked closer at Gracer's head. Tears stained Gracer's face. Tareli wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Hey, it's okay. Everything is fine, trust me if it wasn't we wouldn't be here." Tareli smiled. Tareli sat down next to her Morial and hummed Gracer's favorite song while petting her hair. Gracer lowly sang to the tune as her eyes fluttered closed. There....she's asleep... Tareli thought. She stood up and closed the curtains to muffle the rain. She left the room after tucking in her Morial. She shut the door quietly and slid down the door. She pulled up her sleeve looking at her Life clock. "We'll get back." She grimaced at the sight of the numbers counting down. Tareli sighed and walked down the stairs admiring the pictures along the walls. Hah, it's such a nice hive. Maybe when me and Gracer get back we can decorate the apartment. The apar- OH SHIZ, I LEFT DINNER ON THE STOVE! The apartment is probably in flames right now. Tareli face palmed. "Ughhhh." She grumbled. "Tareli? Is something wrong?" Kanaya asked, folding laundry. "Nothing." Tareli smiled before helping Kanaya with folding. "So are you like, Karkat's care-taker? " Tareli asked. "Well...Not Exactly....However I Do Treat Him Like It." Kanaya said. "Aw! Is This Gracer's Shirt?" Kanaya asked, holding up a shirt with bears on it. "It's her night shirt..." Tareli said smiling. Kanaya smiled back, flashing her sharp teeth at Tareli. The two laughed and continued to fold the clothes. "So how long have you and Gracer been Morials?" Kanaya asked. "Well, I'd like to think since we were grubs, I was stolen by a troll named Nocturnal that's Gracer's Care-taker. Since we don't have a Lusus." Tareli explained. "Me and Gracer were together since then and it was happy until- nevermind about that part, Nocturnal saved me when I was little and now I take care of Gracer." Tareli finished. Kanaya nodded her head and understood that Tareli didn't want to talk about her previous Care-taker. "Are you a rainbow-drinker?" Kanaya asked. Tareli laughed really hard about falling off the chair, she sat up with a stoic face before adjusting her shades. "Yes." Kanaya's eyes widened. "I'm just kiddin." Tareli said with a grin. "Oh...I See....I'm A Rainbow-Drinker....What, May I Ask, Is Your Blood Color?" Kanaya questioned, observing Tareli's skin. "It's a Dark blue, like-" said Tareli before being cut off. "Oh, So You're A Higher-blood Then?" Kanaya asked, blushing slightly. "I guess so, but i'm not into that. I kinda feel like everyone is the same just different blood and quicker deaths." Tareli explained. "It's just a concept some people go with to feel more powerful. I never really understood it." Tareli said as she finished a pile of clothes. "May I....Taste your Blood?" Kanaya asked, hesitating. "If you want to, I don't mind." Kanaya took Tareli's wrist and bit into it. Blue blood dripped off her skin."Ow!!" Tareli shouted. "Oh Goodness....It Tastes Of....Blueberries And Cream?" Kanaya said. "HEY! WHAT'S GOIN' ON HERE?" Aureli shouted. Kanaya and Tareli got startled and quickly turned to her. Aureli smiled and laughed. "Just some serious Clothes folding!" Tareli exclaimed handing Aureli her clothes and pushing her out of the room. "Tareli...?" a soft voice asked. Tareli turned to the stairs and seen Gracer up. Tareli ran up to her Morial. "Are you okay?" Tareli asked checking around. "Yeah...I heard shouting....why is your wrist all bloody?" the tired troll asked. "No reason, just something that happened. Don't you worry about me." Tareli said messing up Gracer's hair. "I'm hungry." Gracer admitted as she rubbed her eyes. Tareli smiled before leading her to the kitchen. "Here we are, wait! We should ask first!" Tareli said running out the room. Gracer heard talking and Tareli returned to the kitchen. "She said to help ourselves." Tareli said with a thumbs up. "I want some creemcrake! Your special recipe!!!" Gracer said as she posed. Tareli smiled as she pulled out the ingredients and got to work. "Do you want to mix the whip cream?" Tareli asked handing Gracer the Whisk. Gracer nodded and took the whisk working hard until the heavy cream became light and fluffy. Tareli pulled the cake part out of the oven added some ingredients put the whip cream on and looked at the creation. "How's that?" Tareli smiled. "Perfect!" Gracer said jumping on her Morial. The two started to make a full on meal. "What should we have for dinner?" Tareli asked. "Hmmm....What do we have?" Gracer asked. Tareli went into the fridge again. "A lot." Tareli answered with a stoic face. "Oh! um...Can we have..er....chicken nuggets?!" Gracer asked, hopefully. Tareli laughed a little before getting out a pack of Frozen Chicken nuggets. There was a sudden loud knock at the door. "Tareli! Could You Assist Me And Answer The Door?" Kanaya called from the living room. "Be right back." Tareli said adjusting her shades as she left the room. Tareli ran through the house to the door. The knock sounded through the house again. "Calm down, i'm getting the door." Tareli said opening the door. "What the-" Tareli asked staring at a Human boy. The two stared at each other. Looking each other up and down. "Kanaya do you know this Guy!?" Tareli called from the door. Kanaya ran up out of breath. "Y-yes, his name is Dave. He is a human and Karkat's friend." Kanaya explained hands on her knees. Tareli looked over to the human who had his eyebrows raised. He extended his hand "Dave, Strider." He said with a smile. "Tarelli." She returned his smile. He smirked at the lack of her Last name. "I don't like my last name." She explained with her arms crossed. "Okay, is Karkat here?" He asked. "No, but we just got dinner on the stove." Tareli said opening the door allowing him inside. "TARELI I THINK I BROKE THE CHICKEN NUGGETS!" Gracer called from the kitchen. "We will be having some non-technical difficulties." Tareli said before disappearing into the kitchen. "Who is that?" Dave asked Kanaya. "A friend I met today, she kind of fell out of the game and needs a place to stay for a while." Tareli explained as they walked into the living room. "So she's just staying here?" He asked. "Well, I kind of forced her. She insisted on paying but I refused." Kanaya replied while sitting on the couch. "Ah." Dave smiled. "Dinner is ready!" A voice was heard from the table. Dave and Kanaya walked in. Kanaya gasped. The table was set napkins and a tablecloth, Plates all around. Forks, knives, and spoons all sorted and separated. Dinner laid out. "It's beautiful!" Kanaya said with a smile. "Thanks, but it's not as much as me and Tareli usually do, We would eat like this over in the game." Gracer explained scratching the back of her head. "Take a seat." Tareli insisted. Dave accepted the offer. "Hey. I'm Dave." he said, greeting Gracer. "Gracer Leonah. I was supposed to be in the game however I got thrown out." Gracer explained. "By a pebble." Tareli added with a smirk. Dave couldn't help but chuckle. "We're here!" A raspy lisp was heard from the stairs, it was Graysil. She was dressed up, in a yellow and black dress, her hair braided and pulled to the side. Hosheo walked out from behind her in his usual apparel. Gracer screamed at the sight of Graysil. "Calm down!" Graysil said, "I know I look good but my Gog!" Graysil huffed. The two took a seat next to each other. Gracer sitting next to Tareli and to the side of her was Kanaya, to the Side of Tareli was Dave. All beginning to eat, with one empty chair. "I wasn't screaming because she looked good, I was screaming because she looked like a giant bee." Gracer stated. "HEY!" Graysil shouted. "Thank you!" She added with a smile. "Where's Karkat?" Tareli asked Kanaya. "He'll be back in 3...2...1." Without missing a beat Karkat walked in. "KANAYA!?" He called. "Dining Room!" she called back. Karkat walked in saw everyone and was taken aback. "WHAT THE HELL!?" He asked. "Do not ask, or use such foul language we are dining, sit down and eat the food that has been prepared!" Kanaya exclaimed with a smile. Karkat did as told and sat in the last chair next to Gracer. "What is happening?" he asked her. "Dinner." She replied. He huffed before turning to his food, a grin appearing on his face as he looked at what was served.