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

Chapter 7 - "The Unfortunate Color Of His Blood"

Reader: Be the fucking idiot

You grimaced as you recalled where she'd last said it, and how she knew it would work. It had been before she blew up your computer, correct? And now you'd automatically given the reaction you would have if allowed the time.
Man, this sucked.

"alright so you got me wwhat the fuck do you wwant from me"

"I've already told you."

"you didnt describe jack shit"

"wwhat do you expect me to just showw up wwith no gist a wwhats goin on i might as wwell sign up for a free ticket to the afterlife noww"

"Don't be ridiculous. We're not going to kill you."

"so somethin wworse then"

You could feel your hands shaking too much to type easily. At this point, you were certain you were getting no more sleep, and so you stood up, moving over to your computer to sit there instead. You kept holding your phone as the computer started, the screen almost welcoming if not for the knowledge of what you'd have to continue on the other side. You glanced over to the time. Four in the morning wasn't such a bad time to wake up. You would be fine without the cold sweat, but some things just couldn't be controlled.

"No, nothing worse. Believe me when I say that we harbor little ill intent toward you. Nothing worth acting on, at the least."

"so youll do it as soon as im not useful anymore"

"From what I've heard, you're the only one who would do that."

That hit you hard. You took a moment, to respond, grimacing. She wasn't wrong, not at all. Back then, you thought of relationships of all types as only a way to gain. At every turn, you used and expected to be used by others. You hadn't learned better until the hellfusion you underwent with Captor- and even after that, you'd struggled. You glanced up as the computer finally opened properly, clicking on the browser so you could message Lalonde more easily.

"wwhatll you do if i dont showw up"

"I'm sure you won't be hard to track down."

"wwhat"

"Don't pretend you can't read, now."

It was hard. It was hard and she didn't understand. Nobody did. You severely doubted anyone on the planet could possibly understand what you were going through- what you had gone through, haunted by the ghost of your revenge both given and served, and forced by your own mind to retreat in situations that should have been tame. They had all had time to recover. You supposed, that when you met them, they'd make it abundantly clear that it was your fault that you hadn't been able to in the limited window you had.

"so ill havve to go then wwhos comin"

"Just Kanaya and myself."

Kanaya. It was even worse when it was typed out by that semi-familiar lilac, and you ran a hand through your messy hair as you tried so hard not to give in to the memories that felt as though they dragged down your every movement. It was almost as bad as the feeling of being surrounded by water, by the feeling of being crushed from all sides at a depth you could no longer comprehend. You had never gone that deep, sure, but the nightmares you'd had were haunting enough to inform you that you did not want to either.

"alright ill be there"

"Good. Three days."

You leaned back on your chair, trying to keep breathing properly. You only had three days. She had told you that you would be fine, and yet her reassurance felt more like a threat. After a moment caught up in your own thoughts, you swallowed thickly, pushing yourself up on your desk. If you were going to get up this early, you might as well eat before your stomach had time to protest. Once you'd made it to your respiteblock door, you paused, hand on the handle. Were you presentable? Would you be alright with mother seeing you like this? You reaffirmed to yourself that she would not be awake, it was fucking four in the morning, before turning the handle.

You made it as far as the stairs before the pain wrapped around and enveloped your waist again. You nearly doubled over, gripping the banister a bit too hard in your attempt to stay upright. You were glad it was made of metal-- it only bent slightly, rather than cracking. And that was easy to fix.

"Eridan?"

Reader: Ponder your options

That's a lot of pondering.

Reader: Be Erisolsprite's other half

You can't do that! He'll enter the story when he's ready, and no sooner.

Reader: Fine, go back to Kanaya

You cracked your eyes open as you woke up, your head pulsing slightly. Headaches were unwelcome and seldom bothered you. As of late, you'd only been getting them when you ran out of.
Um.
You know.

You nudged Rose's body to check if she was awake. When she didn't stir, you sat up on your own, cradling your head with one hand as you walked to the kitchen. You knew exactly where you kept the blood, and half asleep, you reached toward the cupboard to grab a bottle at random. Sure, it had different flavors, but as long as you didn't get one particularly bitter, you didn't care which one you got.

Without bothering to look at the color, you unscrewed the top and tipped it bottoms up, letting the color and flavor run over your fangs and tongue. It was a nice taste, really. Almost sour, and yet unmistakably sweet. Just like a plum.

You nearly choked at the realization, wiping your mouth as you glanced down at the bottle. It was violet. Of course it was. Normally, it would barely bother you. You would wash it down with water (so as not to bother Rose when you next kissed- or perhaps got more intimate than that, even) and go about your day. Today was different though, and it wasn't hard to see why. You cringed inwardly as you remembered what he'd done- what you'd done, and it only got worse as you recalled what you'd done with the corpse.

Your lips coated in violet, you had savored the flavor and gotten as much of his color as you could, at every opportunity. You'd drained him completely. You wouldn't blame him if he hated you, and in fact, you were certain that he did.

Rose, you needed Rose now.

You knew it wasn't healthy to rely on her as much as you did.

And yet, it didn't stop you nearly staggering back to the bedroom, leaning over to shake her shoulder slightly.

"Rose"

You paused as she didn't immediately wake up. You barely took a moment to think that maybe the sight of you with violet dripping down your lips may be far from an appetizing one, before pleading again.

"Rose Please"