The Unfortunate Circumstance Called Reincarnation (A Homestuck Earth C fanfic)

Chapter 2 - The Unfortunate Circumstances Regarding The Location Of Kanaya

A/N: As expected, I got no comments. Oh well. It WAS only the first chapter. :)

ERIDAN'S PoV

You let yourself stop running about halfway down the street outside your school, slowing to a walk as you panted lightly. You were glad you'd gotten out of that situation. You could feel yourself edging on another breakdown when you felt just how close the temperature was to yellow and you... couldn't.

If you were to break down, you wanted to do it alone. Not at home or schoolfeeding. Your carapacian carer (bless her heart, you called her mother and she was much better than Seahorsedad had been) had been overly concerned last time. You know she had good reason to, but you didn't want her asking questions. You didn't want to talk about it.

Now that you were six, it was difficult not to remember happened last time you were this age. The memories came painfully and with little warning. You strained to think of what had set you off in class today. Was it the lipstick the human next to you was applying? Or perhaps the breathy mention of a prince set to save them all, of a failed prophecy and a humiliation. You knew that if it was the latter, it was all inside your head again.

You paused as you came to the street corner, checking for cars before you crossed the road, going back to staring ahead absently while you thought.

Oftentimes, you'd thought of contacting Karkat. Then you'd remember how much he hated you, wanted you dead, and knew you could speak to none of them ever again. You'd thought about speaking to Kanaya, apologizing, but you didn't want to risk repeating your previous demise. You didn't want to risk breaking down in front of any of them either.

You pressed the button at the traffic light as you waited idly, clasping your hands together. Once you had the go ahead, you crossed again, staring out at the water.

Perhaps more than you wanted to speak to them, you wondered if they had ever wanted to again. You knew and you knew that Sollux knew that they'd miss him. They'd miss Vriska- wherever she'd fucked off to anyway- despite how much worse she was than you. It was a bitter thought in the back of your mind. She'd killed far more than you. You couldn't understand why she'd been given forgiveness.

Not once, in yours and Sollux's shared conciousness, did it occur to either of you that they might miss Eridan Ampora, the prince of fucking everything up. And you guessed that only backed up what you'd thought originally.

You paused as you saw a dense crowd ahead of you. You could go back, sure, or you could weave your way through. You weren't sure what they were all there for anyway. As far as you knew, there were no major events. And yet, there were enough people to fill the air with a faint buzzing sound with all their chatter. Narrowing your eyes, you took a few steps forward, trying to see what the fuss was about. You pushed past some consort of some sort, muttering an apology as you made your way closer to the point of interest.

You didn't realize who it was at first. You thought perhaps it was just another troll in the crowd. Until you saw the horns, and the sash that used to be your cape. You felt your stomach turn with disgust and fear as you were jostled by the crowd, quickly glancing around to try to find a way out. You were sure you met her eyes for a moment, and you barely noticed your hands clasping over your waist as you broke eye contact quickly, turning around to try to leave before she recognized you. You couldn't tell whether she followed you or not- the crowd seemed neverending, and their footsteps blended with their cheerful chatter. They were all happy with her. You weren't, and that was entirely your fault. You sped up slightly once you got out of the densest part of the crowd, glancing back to see jade eyes on you. Panicked, and not wanting any form of confrontation, you again bolted. You felt as though you might throw up.

Kanaya's PoV

You smiled as you waved to your adoring subjects, squeezing Rose's hand a bit tighter. You weren't used to crowds after so long of living first in a desert, and then on a meteor, so her assistance was essential. You'd managed to adjust somewhat, with your help. "Once Were Done Here We Ought To Go For Tea" You smiled at your wife as you spoke. You hadn't once regretted taking part in the human tradition of marriage with her. Rose pretended to mull it over for a moment, nodding. "That sounds lovely, dear. I trust you brought your own- ah, sweetener?" You nodded, and were thrilled when she seemed to giggle. "How long were you planning this, then?" You sighed, glad to escape from the buzz of the crowd into a conversation with your beloved. "Quite A Time"

Unfortunately, you had to leave it at that, as an adorable nakodile girl soon came up to you and tugged on your skirt. Her parents looked half mortified that she'd gone further into the crowd on her own.
"My mommy wants to know if you're going to stay this time?" Rose, fortunately, spoke for you. "Of course. You don't want to know what would happen if we left." Or perhaps it was unfortunate. The poor kid looked scared. You bent down, nodding. "We Intend To" You smiled more softly, standing up straight again as you sent her off back to her parents.

You dropped Rose's hand a second later, staring into the crowd. Your eyes had been caught on far-too-familiar wavy horns, and you took a moment to reassure yourself. He couldn't be here. It couldn't have been him. Still, you couldn't shake the feeling. "Dear?" You had been about to respond before you saw grey eyes behind thick-framed glasses staring directly into yours. He looked just like him. And worse, while others in the crowd looked happy or excited, he only looked scared.

As soon as he saw you looking back, he turned on his heel and began pushing through the crowd. Blinking away a shocked expression, you muttered a brief excuse to Rose. "Give Me A Second" before you set off after him. Halfway through the crowd, you lost him. Questions were running through your head as you clutched your lipstick, searching the crowd once again. Wait, your lipstick? You hadn't realized you had decaptchalogued it. No wonder Rose was worried. You were about to turn back when you caught sight of him glancing toward the crowd. He took a moment, but soon ran for it.  You couldn't say you blamed him. There was no point to following him at the moment, so you made a mental note to ask Roxy to search through the databases for an Eridan Ampora, as you turned back to Rose, stepping onto the conjured podium again.

"Rose I Believe We Have A Problem"