Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2014 18:30:46 GMT
Karkat: It's early afternoon and after having taken the time to grumpily make his way from the tower onto the grounds, having bundled up against the late august chill in a thick grey sweater and his gryffindor scarf along with the thick black cloak swaying as he walked. There was no wind to make it billow or blow coldly against his already chapped lips and reddened ears and nose, thank whatever useless dumbfuck of a god was looking out for him, but he was hoping his and Roxy's scheduled study session for their first charms test would go smoothly and quickly so they could head back inside asap. The only reason they were studying outside anyway was because their common rooms didn't allow students from other houses in and he had been kicked out of the stupid library so many times for raising his voice he had given up even trying to study in there. At least it was overcast and grey out, so Roxy's skin wouldn't suffer... though he could have used the warmth. He sighs heavily and trudges out to where she sits, hefting his bookbag up a little higher over his shoulder. He looked forward to the company, at any rate. She was like one of the only people shorter than him and DIDN'T enjoy riling him up like half of his other shitspewing dumbass "friends" who seemed like they intentionally provoked him half the time. He twitches unconsciously as he thinks about Dave, wishing he'd gotten roomed up with anyone else but him for their second year at Hogwarts, but noooo....
He grumbles under his breath and tries to slap on a borderline approachable expression as he comes closer but only manages a grimace instead as he waves at Roxy when he gets close enough.
"Hey Roxy. You ready?" He asks, voice as hoarse and raspy as ever from having blown out his voice more than once screaming at the top of his lungs over the last few years.
Roxy: Roxy looks over and nods. While she waited for Karkat, she decided to plop down against the ground and stare at the sky. She didn't trust the weather to stay overcast for long, so just in case she brought along an umbrella. It lay closed beside her due to the shade of the tree being enough for her, although it was still an eyecatching pink. When it was open, it had black paw-prints run across the fabric, and it was one of Roxy's favorites.
"Hey Kitkat!" She waved at him. 'Kitkat' was probably her favorite nickname for him, and sure - he grumbled loudly about it, but he grumbled loudly about everything, so Roxy was pretty sure it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't like the name was /offensive/ or anything. It was a candy! Everyone loved candy. Karkat wasn't so bad, either. Sure, he was loud, but Dave liked him, and he dealt with a Strider, so Roxy felt like they were in the same boat, more or less.
They weren't, of course, Dave and Dirk were different people, and honestly Karkat and Dirk's boats were more similar than Roxy's and Karkat's.
Karkat: "Mmph. Don't call me that. I am not a piece of goddamn candy."He grumbles, plopping down heavily into the grass next to her and starting to rummage through his bookbag. "It makes me sound like something fucking sweet and soft like some kind of obnoxiously fat marshmallow and let me tell you, sister, I am one hardened asshole of a wizard. I have seen things you wouldn't believe!" He rants, chiding her as he pulls out his notes and crankily notices he bent one of the pages. He starts trying to smooth it out as he glances over at her. "... So what are you not up to speed on charms wise? How come you're having problems anyway? Usually you're quick to catch on with everything. I'm sort of surprised you agreed to a study session in the first place. Not like we all fucking need it."
Roxy: She giggles as he rants, amused, "Oh come on, kitkats are, like, crunchy and delish." Roxy nods, as though she knows exactly what she's talking about, "Like my fave candy right there, and even if the choc'late Karkatts you still got the wafery goodness." She gives a longing sigh, summer was so far, and so was her next kitkat.
Oh shit. She has studying to do, right, Roxy grabs her books out of her own bag, "Pronunciation is my issue r'now, I got the theory down" She doesn't look up as she says it, just trying to gloss over it and act like it wasn't a big deal, "Plus Dirk has been gettin' sulky lately so it's hard t'ask him."
Karkat: "Oh... " He says as he thinks about it, kicking himself for not having realized sooner. Of course she'd have issues with pronouncing spells. He hadn't had any charms classes with Ravenclaw house the first year, so he hadn't really thought about it until now. He doesn't make a big deal about it though, knowing it's a sensitive issue. She's heard Vriska antagonizing her enough over it for that to be obvious anyway.
He chooses the safer topic instead, his interest vaguely piqued by the mention of Dirk. Usually he doesn't really spend much time with him personally, but gossip is something he can never pass up. "Why is he sulking? Did his unmitigated shitbiscuit of a brother out- 'irony' him in something or did something else crawl up his ass and die?"
Roxy: She doesn't look up until he changes topic, not wanting any sort of sympathy. It's partially why she chose Karkat in the first place for a study session, she was sure he wouldn't try to baby her or try too hard to emphasize. That was even worse than when people made fun of her, because they acted like she wasn't capible of moving past it.
"Omg." She looks up, snickering, "Man, he wishes. Nothin' is up his ass, which is why the boy is sulking. And you didn't mention which brother - gotta specify." Nod nod, Roxy knows what she's talking about, "Otherwise you could end up with Striders up your wazzoo askin' if you can tell 'em apart."
Karkat: "I meant Dave. Sorry, he's the Strider I'm used to dealing with most so I usually mean him. Fuck knows the doucheweasal is always in my goddamn hair" Dave was a huge dick that never let things go and honestly sort of baffled Karkat. He did anything to get a rise out of him and then would turn right around and do something nice under the quise of his ever-so-convenient bullshit excuse of the Strider definition of irony, but he was still suspicious. Maybe he felt guilty for taking things so far sometimes but it was still fucking shitty.
He was sort of glad Dirk- and Hal- left him alone, to be quite honest. One Strider was already more than he could handle. "But I take it you mean the dickmitten is having relationship problems, then? Who's he gunning after?" He so knew he was into guys... even if he hadn't had any actual confirmation until just now. Roxy would know, right?
Roxy: "Nah, I knew who ya meant. I'm jus' fuckin' with you a li'l, Kitkat, don't take it t'heart." She grins, shaking her head as she flips through her charms book, although it's all for show.
Once she realizes what he was asking, Roxy frowned, "You mean you don't know?" She looks over at him, wide-eyed. "How do you not know? Like, for serious. The guy has the biggest crush I have ever seen. Well." She stops, frowning, "Third biggest crush I've ever seen, which is talkin' about something."
Karkat: "... No. Though it PAINS me to admit it, I have not noticed. The only guy he ever spends much time with is.... Oh. Ohhhhhh. Well. That's interesting." He says with a pleased expression, sitting back a bit and looking to be in a mildly better mood than usual. There was nothing that quite got him to sit and relax like gossiping did. Thinking about other people's relationship problems tended to make him take his mind off his own complete lack of a love life, at least.
"So Jake then? I'm right, aren't I? The oblivious pinhead probably doesn't even realize it either. Wow. And who are the other two biggest crushes then!? I demand answers! You can't just say something like that and expect me not to be curious, Lalonde!" He says warningly, giving her a suspicious glare.
Roxy: Roxy nods when he gets it, rolling her eyes, "C'mon, you mean you didn't know? That's terribad for you Mr. Love Doctor." She didn't actually talk to Karkat often, especially considering she hadn't had a real class with him in forever, so most of her knowledge of him was from Dave.
"Omg, it's not Jake, wtf." She snorts, ovbiously messing with him, "It's Janey, have you SEEN her inna moustache? Like goddamn. Anyway, if it WAS Jake, of course he wouldn't notice. He doesn't notice any of the crushes people have on him." Roxy rolls her eyes. Dirk. Jane. Her. None of them.
"Other two big crushes?" She raises her eyebrows and raises two fingers, lowering one for each name she says, "Vantases. Pyropes."
Karkat: He glares at her, knowing she's just fucking with him this time. Stupid know-it-all broads and their oh so hoity-toity attitudes. "Shut the fuck up! You don't know what you're talking about! Jesus fucking christ, can't a guy be nice and lend a girl some notes without having half the goddamn school spreading brutal fabricated fucking rumors! I swear to god it's not like Kankri even HAS ANY sort of romantic inclinations, and even if he did, that crotchstained douchebagging dickthumper wouldn't know what to do about it! He's got his head so far up his ass he wouldn't recognize someone ACTUALLY romantically compatible with him if they BIT HIM right on his fat fucking cellulite-covered rumpcheeks!" He shrieks, distracted from her attempt at misleading him and growing increasingly agitated and defensive. He pushes most of the focus on Kankri, of course, not knowing what else to do. He'd probably dig himself into a hole if he even tried denying the crush he had on Terezi. It's not like she liked him back anyway.
Roxy: Roxy can't even try to hide her smile, so instead she bites her lips, raises her eyebrows, and waits. He was proving his own point here with his tiny growing-louder-with-each-sentence rant and Roxy wasn't even going to try and inturrupt him.
When he paused she stared at him some more, waiting, "Yeah? Anythin' else you wanna add there, buddy?"
Karkat: ".... Shut up and start looking at your charms book." He says with a flushed face, squinting at her angrily and the dark circles under his eyes making the glare that much more severe. He does not want to talk about this. Least of all to someone he doesn't know very well at all. Besides... she was friends with Dave and... well, he and Terezi were getting pretty close lately. Far be it for him to ruin a pairing with a better chance of succeeding than any relationship involving him would have. He was a terrible person and Dave was probably better for her anyway.
Roxy: She raises her hands in a defensive manner, hell, Roxy wasn't going to push anything here. "Yessir." Picking up the forgotten charms book, she begins flipping through the pages again, "Anyway, Dirk ain't havin' much luck, either, which means he's also takin' it out on me." Shrug.
Karkat: He grumpily flips through his own charms book, quiet for a long moment as he cools off some and tries to tamp down on the self loathing and aggravation. After mindlessly reading a few lines he glances over at her and gives a grudging reply. He IS still interested in hearing about that despite himself. ".... Go on. Why the fuck would he take it out on you. You're one of his best friends, right? Unless you're cockblocking him or whatever I don't see why he'd suddenly start acting like a dick muffin towards you.... aside from his usual pretentious asshole tendencies, anyway."
Roxy: "'Cause no one is spared from Strider Sulks, c'mon, KV, you should know this from Dave." She snorts and shakes her head, looking up from her book, "And if Dirk is feelin' sulky than I can't even try to fake-flirt with Hal." Roxy gives a long-suffering sigh, "Didja know I'm not even allowed to be alone in the same room with him anymore? Like, wow, hella fuckin' rude."
Karkat: "I don't fucking bother to pay attention when Dave Strider is in his moods- usually because it means I am finally getting that rare and ridiculous thing called PEACE AND QUIET!" He shouts, scaring off a couple birds from the tree above them. Honestly, yes, he did notice. But that didn't mean he was obligated to do more than throw some stupid piece of shit candy at him and tell him to get his lazy ass out of his bunk and go outside... and maybe go do a little poking around into the issue. Sometimes. Whatever. It wasn't a big deal.
"Just leave his dumb ass alone and he'll stap out of it on his own! You don't have to listen to him either. It's not like he can ban you from talking to someone! Last time I CHECKED it wasn't ILLEGAL to be alone with someone you LIKE! Tell him to kiss your ass and do what you want! ...I mean, if that's what Hal wants too. Does he, you know. Fake flirt back? Or.... real flirt? Because leading someone is a heinous fucking crime against humanity and I have ZERO sympathy for you if you're doing that to the kid!"
Roxy: Roxy ends up giggling when he shouts, looking up and squinting as the poor birds flutter off. When she registers that she's squinting, Roxy pulls over her umbrella and opens it, holding it over her shoulder. All her umbrellas had a feather-light charm on them, making sure she didn't tire herself out carrying necessary objects. Otherwise she would, of course, get burned and then miserable for the next few days - dumb sun.
"Nah, Dirky doesn't work like that. If you leave him alone he drowns in'is thoughts and then doesn't stop sulking for months. I actually spend two weeks in July at his place to make sure he doesn't die or somethin'." Striders. She shrugs, "Anyway I got that rule for all Striders, sans Dirk. No bein' alone. No kissing. Rules rules rules." Roxy does a flippant motion with her hand, not even mentioning the third part. Of course he didn't like her! Roxy actually lived in an odd world where she believed no one ever liked her until they went up to her face and said it. On the other hand, Roxy liked everyone, which was probably part of the reason she didn't think anyone liked her. Honestly, she was just weird.
Karkat: "Whatever. You know him best so it's not like I can give solid advice. But still, that's kind of gross you let him dictate things like that for you. I mean so long as things were clear on your intent and they felt the same it's fine to fake flirt. Not like either of you has a boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever, and Dirk doesn't have any claim on you. Or want one, for that matter." He says seriously, thinking there might be something there. He could feel it. Still, he wasn't one to pry for more than she gave, unlike SOMEBODY.
He huffs and continues back to the main subject. "Which I know it's not Jane, by the way. You're the one who started this conversation by saying he wanted something up the butt, and unless Jane is keeping something under her skirt I REALLY don't want or need to know about, it has to be Jake!"
Roxy: "I respect Dirk and his dumb rules enough that I follow them 'less they're, like, too dumb." She shrugs, "Plus he keeps me in line more often than not, and I make sure he doesn't get too serious..." Roxy trails off. Her relationship with Dirk was weird, and close, and she got muddled up with wanting to kiss him and wanting to protect him from himself and there was just... Feelings.
"There's also plastic! Or glass!" Nod nod nod. Fake dicks!! "And of course it's Jakester, silly, I was bein' all hells of sarcastic right there."
Karkat: "Well why the hell didn't you just say so! I swear to god I can never tell whenever you Lalondes or Striders are being fucking sarcastic! Half the dumb shit that comes out of your shitspewing mouths hardly ever makes sense anyway!" He splutters irritably. "....But whatever. You're good for him, I guess. A balance. Jake is too, which I suppose it why they're already friends. Does he just not enjoy the thought of gobbling Dick fucking Strider's nuts or is he not on the cocksucking wagon in general?" He asks crassly, genuinely wanting to know. Did he even know...? If he did, it was one issue or the other. And to be honest, neither would have much chance of being changed....
Roxy: "It's called bein' awesome, sorry you didn't get th' memo Kitkat." She winks before looking over at his book to make sure they were both on the same page, "We're all balanced. Jake, Janey, Dirk an' I. Best we can hope for, really." Snicker, "Jake 'n I were lucky t'find them." With that said, she moves on, "Jake doesn't even know, of course. An' idk what he would do if he DID know, but I don't think he would really even turn Dirk down?" She pauses, thinking, "Honestly, idk."
Karkat: "Shut up, I'm way awesomer than you could ever even dream of being." He grumbles sarcastically back, resting his chin in hand as he flips through the most recent pages of the last chapter they went through together in class. "... I'm willing to bet the dumb puppy would probably at least give him a chance if he did nut up and confess. It's not like Dirk is THAT bad and he's not... unfortunate looking." Who was he kidding. Dirk was a fucking hunk and he'd shit himself if anyone like him ever looked at him twice.
"Jake is all about adventure and bullshit like that. He'd probably just see it as something new to try and if he liked it, who knows? He seems a lot like John in that he doesn't really hold it against someone if they, uhhh.... " He grows quiet, face heating up as he recalls a very specific and embarrassing moment where he almost told the stupid boy something along the lines of how pretty his horrendously blue eyes were. And then he said he wasn't gay and punched him in the arm. In a friendly manner with a wide grin, but still. ".... If they feel attraction towards them and it's not reciprocated." He ends laKarkaty, rubbing his dumb face and feeling a stab of self pity and hate over his terrible taste.
No, he didn't mean that, Terezi and John were both good people.
Roxy: Roxy gives a sympathetic smile, leaning over and rubbing Karkat's arm, "Nah, I know the feel. Same thing when I told Dirk how much I liked him. Jus' gotta tak'a deep breath an' figure that their friendship is worth it." She leans back and sighs, shifting her umbrella in the process.
"Either way, Dirk doesn't feel like that, and he needs t'make sure everything is perfect before he even begins to make a move and idk." Roxy huffs, rolling her eyes.
Karkat: "A good friendship will hold even if there's unreciprocated attraction or feelings." He mutters gruffly, looking down at his arm where she touched him with an unreadable expression. He didn't like being touched casually and it sort of set him on edge but he let it go, just rubbing at his arm where she did to wipe away the sensation.
"I get the perfectionist excuse, though. Even if it's just a way to delay things while he gathers up his courage, chances are he'll get a better response if he's got everything set up the way he wants it. Stack the odds in his favor, so to speak. Get romantic, I guess... whatever serves as romantic for Southern assholes...
Roxy: Roxy frowns when she notices his reaction to her touching him, and she's quick to try and correct it, "Shit - sorry, I'm jus' hella'fectionate an'I forget some guys re'ly aren't an'..." Roxy pauses and takes a deep breath, realizing she was slurring more than she needed to, and if she started rambling she wouldn't stop. "Fuck." Another deep breath, "Ne'way, Dirk is jus' weird, and Jake won't care 'bout perfection anyway, so." She shrugs.
Karkat: "It's fine. You didn't know." He mutters quietly, tone softening up some as he pulls his cloak tighter around himself. He could deal with the jabbing and wrestling and the shoving but never the soft touching or hugging or kissing... It always made his skin feel too tight and his chest ache and his eyes burn uncomfortably. He wasn't used to it and was just another reason why he was already sure he'd die alone like a huge fucking loser.Or with Kankri, anyway. God knew his brother would prefer winding up alone too anyway.
Karkat finds the passage describing the most recent spell they worked on in class and points it out to her, not wanting to linger over it anymore than she wanted people dwelling on her slur. "Anyway, this is probably the spell the most fresh in your memory, right? Let's start here and work our way back. You have to relax and be comfortable when test time comes or else you won't pronounce it correctly, too. I know I sound like the biggest, douchiest hypocrite ever, but maybe you should find something to relax with and use it before? Like a stress ball or something...?"
Roxy: "Yeah." She nods, looking at her own book, "That one an' the bub'ly one on th' page before." Honestly Roxy just liked making the surface of objects bubble. That was rad as hell and completely useless in a normal situation. She loved it.
"Well," Roxy closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. This time when she speaks it's slow and controlled, "It's not that I can't talk without my slur, it's jus' - shit." She shakes her head, "Just hard." Roxy opens her eyes again, speaking at her normal, quick pace, "And I can read other spells. I jus' need help pronouncing them. It's easier t'slur and speak like this, so my mind wants to do it first, unable to com'rehend that my magic doesn't work like that. I'll prob'ly get better as I get older..."
Karkat: "Okay." He lets the suggestion go, figuring she probably already realizes her slurring gets bad when she's not calm anyway. "You should start practicing saying them over and over clearly whenever you have time then. Train your mind to automatically use the more difficult way with spells so you won't get stuck on it in a practical situation. Not that turning surfaces bubbly is the least goddamn bit practical in any concievable situation, but there you have it. The more recent one- the one that makes everything feel fuzzy and soft- that one might get some use..." He ponders, kind of tempted to practice making everything in his little area back in the dorm feel nice and fuzzy. When his roommates aren't around, at any rate.
"It's pronounced Swah- vis. Not Soo- ah- vis, either. Suavis. Like swab, as in cotton swab. And vis as in visceral. You say it. Without the slur."
Roxy: Roxy scrunches up her face, thinking about later years and their spells. She heard they practiced dueling. Like. REAL dueling. Rox would be so fucked.
Wait. Right. "I think bubbly surfaces are super pract'l. Like. You could make norm sand seem like quicksand!" Grin and nod. This was obvious, of course.
Roxy takes a deep breath, getting back on tutoring topic. "S'avis." Her face scrunches up again. "Shit. Tha's not right."
Karkat: He snorts at the quicksand suggestion, not really taking it seriously. He doesn't seem to lose his patience at all when she pronounces the spell wrong, though. "No, it's not. Suavis. This is one of the shorter spells too, so I think it's a good one to practice with. Suavis. Suavis. Suavis. Take your time and work the sound out. Every day pronounce it ten times correctly. Do that for each spell, in fact. It'll imprint it in your head and make it a muscle memory."
Roxy: "Bleh." She sticks out her tongue. "An' if I learn over 10 spells from one class tha's over 100 words." Roxy wasn't actually upset by that, she was just nervous to try something new, honestly. If it didn't work than it was another thing that didn't help and those things suck. She takes a deep breath. "Part of the prob'em is also forgetin' how they act'lly sound because I'm thinkin' in my own terms..." She looks away. Wow. The lake was really pretty right now.
Karkat: "A hundred words is nothing. Kankri spouts off at least a thousand by the end of breakfast alone, let me tell you. But if you need to start off with a smaller number and work your way up, that's fine too. Maybe just get one of your buddies to repeat the spells for you every morning? The pronunciation is written in the book already too." He flips through it absently, not really noticing her attention is wandering. "How about flashcards?"
Roxy: Roxy nods, looking back over to him, "Nono, I understand it's not a lot, like, logic'ly, but that doesn't help my mind'll when it comes to the actual thing." Her brain was a fickle thing, and she gives a wistful sigh, mumbling to herself, "If only ever'thin' could be like potions..." Those were easy, and they reminded her of what she learned in elementary school about muggle chemists. A drop of this, and a dash of that, and if you did it right, something amazing happened.
Karkat: "Well you know you need spellwork in a lot of the more advanced potions horseshit. And even when it comes to cleaning up for the day or stirring, you know? You don't want to do all that crap by hand if you can do it magically. People will point it out." He rubs his head, thinking hard to try and come up with more solutions. He wasn't a speech therapist for christ's sake but he had to at least find some sort of option that didn't sound shitty and obvious.
"You could maybe start researching to see if there's a spell or potion that helps with enunciation? I don't know. If there is one I wouldn't know about it, but the last hundred or so generations of crackpot spellflingers seem to have spent so much time with their wands up their asses that they've thought of stupid ridiculous incantations for nearly everything anyway. I mean come on, that would be way more useful than making everything bubbly."
Roxy: She snickers, "I don't think you rec'nize the full applications of bubbly surfaces, but I'll let it slide." There weren't really any. It was basically a useless, simple spell. Perfect for second years.
"I also dunno about a spell t'help me enunciate. That seems... Weird." Vaguely like cheating. And also very complicated. Would she have to cast the spell on herself every time she wanted to practice another spell? How long did it last? Were there any side effects?
"Anyway I like cleanin' cauldrons by hand. It's a simple, repetitive thing and if you do it soon enough than it's not'a huge mess." And if the mess was toxic or big enough, she just had the professor magic it away. Perfect.
Karkat: "Yeah well I bet that wouldn't fly in an O.W.L. test or any of the other stupid animal acronym tests they have for us. Plus you gotta start thinking about what you'll do after graduation too. You can't exactly expect to get really great at potions and then apply for a job in the field when you lack the most basic skills." He points out, getting the feeling this was a problem that probably should be addressed sooner rather than later.
"Pureblood wizards will always look down on you if you don't do even mundane tasks the magical way, as assbackwards as they are. Those predjudiced pricksuckers are always looking for ways to validate themselves and you shouldn't give them any ammo against you. I know for a fact Serket is always all over your ass about every little slip up you make."
Roxy: She gives a long silence at that, head lowered and her umbrella lowered a bit to shield her a bit more. "Yeah..." She speaks after a while, sighing, "I know... I mean. I figured. But its different when y'say it out loud..." There's another short pause as she thinks about it again, and Roxy shrugs, "I'll jus' hav'ta figure this out, I guess..."
Karkat: ".... Sorry. I wish I knew a more concrete way to help but all I can suggest is you do the verbal exercises." He says with a short glance over at her, feeling like a huge piece of salty shit. Of course he can't help her. And he should have just kept his big fucking mouth shut. She definitely needed to hear that but... not from him. He huffs in frustration and starts putting his book back in his bag, standing up and avoiding looking at her.
"C'mon. It's about dinner time and I'm sure if we miss it we'll have a couple of Striders on our cases if we show up half way through. The last thing I need is Dave making up more shitty asanine guesses about where I am when I'm not glued to his fucking hipster hip anyway." He grouses, figuring she could use some better company than him right now.
Roxy: "Nah," she shakes her head, putting her own books in her bag and standing up, adjusting the umbrella on her shoulder. "C'mon Kitkat, it's kind of cute how they worry about their friends all the time." Whatever mood she was in earlier was gone , and Roxy was back to normal, cheerful self. "'Tho you're right. An' I'm hungry anyway. So let's go?"
Karkat: "Mmph." He grunts and turns to lead the way with his usual grumpy expression, figuring at least he'd get to sit and swallow the shitty feelings along with whatever they had on the table that evening. He'd been putting on more weight lately, thanks in part to his tendency to fill up on the good food as often as possible. At least Strider'd had the good grace not to comment. So far, anyway. With his mind now firmly on food and stupid Striders, he lets their conversation fall to the back of his head and tries not to worry about what can't be fixed. By him, at any rate.
He grumbles under his breath and tries to slap on a borderline approachable expression as he comes closer but only manages a grimace instead as he waves at Roxy when he gets close enough.
"Hey Roxy. You ready?" He asks, voice as hoarse and raspy as ever from having blown out his voice more than once screaming at the top of his lungs over the last few years.
Roxy: Roxy looks over and nods. While she waited for Karkat, she decided to plop down against the ground and stare at the sky. She didn't trust the weather to stay overcast for long, so just in case she brought along an umbrella. It lay closed beside her due to the shade of the tree being enough for her, although it was still an eyecatching pink. When it was open, it had black paw-prints run across the fabric, and it was one of Roxy's favorites.
"Hey Kitkat!" She waved at him. 'Kitkat' was probably her favorite nickname for him, and sure - he grumbled loudly about it, but he grumbled loudly about everything, so Roxy was pretty sure it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't like the name was /offensive/ or anything. It was a candy! Everyone loved candy. Karkat wasn't so bad, either. Sure, he was loud, but Dave liked him, and he dealt with a Strider, so Roxy felt like they were in the same boat, more or less.
They weren't, of course, Dave and Dirk were different people, and honestly Karkat and Dirk's boats were more similar than Roxy's and Karkat's.
Karkat: "Mmph. Don't call me that. I am not a piece of goddamn candy."He grumbles, plopping down heavily into the grass next to her and starting to rummage through his bookbag. "It makes me sound like something fucking sweet and soft like some kind of obnoxiously fat marshmallow and let me tell you, sister, I am one hardened asshole of a wizard. I have seen things you wouldn't believe!" He rants, chiding her as he pulls out his notes and crankily notices he bent one of the pages. He starts trying to smooth it out as he glances over at her. "... So what are you not up to speed on charms wise? How come you're having problems anyway? Usually you're quick to catch on with everything. I'm sort of surprised you agreed to a study session in the first place. Not like we all fucking need it."
Roxy: She giggles as he rants, amused, "Oh come on, kitkats are, like, crunchy and delish." Roxy nods, as though she knows exactly what she's talking about, "Like my fave candy right there, and even if the choc'late Karkatts you still got the wafery goodness." She gives a longing sigh, summer was so far, and so was her next kitkat.
Oh shit. She has studying to do, right, Roxy grabs her books out of her own bag, "Pronunciation is my issue r'now, I got the theory down" She doesn't look up as she says it, just trying to gloss over it and act like it wasn't a big deal, "Plus Dirk has been gettin' sulky lately so it's hard t'ask him."
Karkat: "Oh... " He says as he thinks about it, kicking himself for not having realized sooner. Of course she'd have issues with pronouncing spells. He hadn't had any charms classes with Ravenclaw house the first year, so he hadn't really thought about it until now. He doesn't make a big deal about it though, knowing it's a sensitive issue. She's heard Vriska antagonizing her enough over it for that to be obvious anyway.
He chooses the safer topic instead, his interest vaguely piqued by the mention of Dirk. Usually he doesn't really spend much time with him personally, but gossip is something he can never pass up. "Why is he sulking? Did his unmitigated shitbiscuit of a brother out- 'irony' him in something or did something else crawl up his ass and die?"
Roxy: She doesn't look up until he changes topic, not wanting any sort of sympathy. It's partially why she chose Karkat in the first place for a study session, she was sure he wouldn't try to baby her or try too hard to emphasize. That was even worse than when people made fun of her, because they acted like she wasn't capible of moving past it.
"Omg." She looks up, snickering, "Man, he wishes. Nothin' is up his ass, which is why the boy is sulking. And you didn't mention which brother - gotta specify." Nod nod, Roxy knows what she's talking about, "Otherwise you could end up with Striders up your wazzoo askin' if you can tell 'em apart."
Karkat: "I meant Dave. Sorry, he's the Strider I'm used to dealing with most so I usually mean him. Fuck knows the doucheweasal is always in my goddamn hair" Dave was a huge dick that never let things go and honestly sort of baffled Karkat. He did anything to get a rise out of him and then would turn right around and do something nice under the quise of his ever-so-convenient bullshit excuse of the Strider definition of irony, but he was still suspicious. Maybe he felt guilty for taking things so far sometimes but it was still fucking shitty.
He was sort of glad Dirk- and Hal- left him alone, to be quite honest. One Strider was already more than he could handle. "But I take it you mean the dickmitten is having relationship problems, then? Who's he gunning after?" He so knew he was into guys... even if he hadn't had any actual confirmation until just now. Roxy would know, right?
Roxy: "Nah, I knew who ya meant. I'm jus' fuckin' with you a li'l, Kitkat, don't take it t'heart." She grins, shaking her head as she flips through her charms book, although it's all for show.
Once she realizes what he was asking, Roxy frowned, "You mean you don't know?" She looks over at him, wide-eyed. "How do you not know? Like, for serious. The guy has the biggest crush I have ever seen. Well." She stops, frowning, "Third biggest crush I've ever seen, which is talkin' about something."
Karkat: "... No. Though it PAINS me to admit it, I have not noticed. The only guy he ever spends much time with is.... Oh. Ohhhhhh. Well. That's interesting." He says with a pleased expression, sitting back a bit and looking to be in a mildly better mood than usual. There was nothing that quite got him to sit and relax like gossiping did. Thinking about other people's relationship problems tended to make him take his mind off his own complete lack of a love life, at least.
"So Jake then? I'm right, aren't I? The oblivious pinhead probably doesn't even realize it either. Wow. And who are the other two biggest crushes then!? I demand answers! You can't just say something like that and expect me not to be curious, Lalonde!" He says warningly, giving her a suspicious glare.
Roxy: Roxy nods when he gets it, rolling her eyes, "C'mon, you mean you didn't know? That's terribad for you Mr. Love Doctor." She didn't actually talk to Karkat often, especially considering she hadn't had a real class with him in forever, so most of her knowledge of him was from Dave.
"Omg, it's not Jake, wtf." She snorts, ovbiously messing with him, "It's Janey, have you SEEN her inna moustache? Like goddamn. Anyway, if it WAS Jake, of course he wouldn't notice. He doesn't notice any of the crushes people have on him." Roxy rolls her eyes. Dirk. Jane. Her. None of them.
"Other two big crushes?" She raises her eyebrows and raises two fingers, lowering one for each name she says, "Vantases. Pyropes."
Karkat: He glares at her, knowing she's just fucking with him this time. Stupid know-it-all broads and their oh so hoity-toity attitudes. "Shut the fuck up! You don't know what you're talking about! Jesus fucking christ, can't a guy be nice and lend a girl some notes without having half the goddamn school spreading brutal fabricated fucking rumors! I swear to god it's not like Kankri even HAS ANY sort of romantic inclinations, and even if he did, that crotchstained douchebagging dickthumper wouldn't know what to do about it! He's got his head so far up his ass he wouldn't recognize someone ACTUALLY romantically compatible with him if they BIT HIM right on his fat fucking cellulite-covered rumpcheeks!" He shrieks, distracted from her attempt at misleading him and growing increasingly agitated and defensive. He pushes most of the focus on Kankri, of course, not knowing what else to do. He'd probably dig himself into a hole if he even tried denying the crush he had on Terezi. It's not like she liked him back anyway.
Roxy: Roxy can't even try to hide her smile, so instead she bites her lips, raises her eyebrows, and waits. He was proving his own point here with his tiny growing-louder-with-each-sentence rant and Roxy wasn't even going to try and inturrupt him.
When he paused she stared at him some more, waiting, "Yeah? Anythin' else you wanna add there, buddy?"
Karkat: ".... Shut up and start looking at your charms book." He says with a flushed face, squinting at her angrily and the dark circles under his eyes making the glare that much more severe. He does not want to talk about this. Least of all to someone he doesn't know very well at all. Besides... she was friends with Dave and... well, he and Terezi were getting pretty close lately. Far be it for him to ruin a pairing with a better chance of succeeding than any relationship involving him would have. He was a terrible person and Dave was probably better for her anyway.
Roxy: She raises her hands in a defensive manner, hell, Roxy wasn't going to push anything here. "Yessir." Picking up the forgotten charms book, she begins flipping through the pages again, "Anyway, Dirk ain't havin' much luck, either, which means he's also takin' it out on me." Shrug.
Karkat: He grumpily flips through his own charms book, quiet for a long moment as he cools off some and tries to tamp down on the self loathing and aggravation. After mindlessly reading a few lines he glances over at her and gives a grudging reply. He IS still interested in hearing about that despite himself. ".... Go on. Why the fuck would he take it out on you. You're one of his best friends, right? Unless you're cockblocking him or whatever I don't see why he'd suddenly start acting like a dick muffin towards you.... aside from his usual pretentious asshole tendencies, anyway."
Roxy: "'Cause no one is spared from Strider Sulks, c'mon, KV, you should know this from Dave." She snorts and shakes her head, looking up from her book, "And if Dirk is feelin' sulky than I can't even try to fake-flirt with Hal." Roxy gives a long-suffering sigh, "Didja know I'm not even allowed to be alone in the same room with him anymore? Like, wow, hella fuckin' rude."
Karkat: "I don't fucking bother to pay attention when Dave Strider is in his moods- usually because it means I am finally getting that rare and ridiculous thing called PEACE AND QUIET!" He shouts, scaring off a couple birds from the tree above them. Honestly, yes, he did notice. But that didn't mean he was obligated to do more than throw some stupid piece of shit candy at him and tell him to get his lazy ass out of his bunk and go outside... and maybe go do a little poking around into the issue. Sometimes. Whatever. It wasn't a big deal.
"Just leave his dumb ass alone and he'll stap out of it on his own! You don't have to listen to him either. It's not like he can ban you from talking to someone! Last time I CHECKED it wasn't ILLEGAL to be alone with someone you LIKE! Tell him to kiss your ass and do what you want! ...I mean, if that's what Hal wants too. Does he, you know. Fake flirt back? Or.... real flirt? Because leading someone is a heinous fucking crime against humanity and I have ZERO sympathy for you if you're doing that to the kid!"
Roxy: Roxy ends up giggling when he shouts, looking up and squinting as the poor birds flutter off. When she registers that she's squinting, Roxy pulls over her umbrella and opens it, holding it over her shoulder. All her umbrellas had a feather-light charm on them, making sure she didn't tire herself out carrying necessary objects. Otherwise she would, of course, get burned and then miserable for the next few days - dumb sun.
"Nah, Dirky doesn't work like that. If you leave him alone he drowns in'is thoughts and then doesn't stop sulking for months. I actually spend two weeks in July at his place to make sure he doesn't die or somethin'." Striders. She shrugs, "Anyway I got that rule for all Striders, sans Dirk. No bein' alone. No kissing. Rules rules rules." Roxy does a flippant motion with her hand, not even mentioning the third part. Of course he didn't like her! Roxy actually lived in an odd world where she believed no one ever liked her until they went up to her face and said it. On the other hand, Roxy liked everyone, which was probably part of the reason she didn't think anyone liked her. Honestly, she was just weird.
Karkat: "Whatever. You know him best so it's not like I can give solid advice. But still, that's kind of gross you let him dictate things like that for you. I mean so long as things were clear on your intent and they felt the same it's fine to fake flirt. Not like either of you has a boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever, and Dirk doesn't have any claim on you. Or want one, for that matter." He says seriously, thinking there might be something there. He could feel it. Still, he wasn't one to pry for more than she gave, unlike SOMEBODY.
He huffs and continues back to the main subject. "Which I know it's not Jane, by the way. You're the one who started this conversation by saying he wanted something up the butt, and unless Jane is keeping something under her skirt I REALLY don't want or need to know about, it has to be Jake!"
Roxy: "I respect Dirk and his dumb rules enough that I follow them 'less they're, like, too dumb." She shrugs, "Plus he keeps me in line more often than not, and I make sure he doesn't get too serious..." Roxy trails off. Her relationship with Dirk was weird, and close, and she got muddled up with wanting to kiss him and wanting to protect him from himself and there was just... Feelings.
"There's also plastic! Or glass!" Nod nod nod. Fake dicks!! "And of course it's Jakester, silly, I was bein' all hells of sarcastic right there."
Karkat: "Well why the hell didn't you just say so! I swear to god I can never tell whenever you Lalondes or Striders are being fucking sarcastic! Half the dumb shit that comes out of your shitspewing mouths hardly ever makes sense anyway!" He splutters irritably. "....But whatever. You're good for him, I guess. A balance. Jake is too, which I suppose it why they're already friends. Does he just not enjoy the thought of gobbling Dick fucking Strider's nuts or is he not on the cocksucking wagon in general?" He asks crassly, genuinely wanting to know. Did he even know...? If he did, it was one issue or the other. And to be honest, neither would have much chance of being changed....
Roxy: "It's called bein' awesome, sorry you didn't get th' memo Kitkat." She winks before looking over at his book to make sure they were both on the same page, "We're all balanced. Jake, Janey, Dirk an' I. Best we can hope for, really." Snicker, "Jake 'n I were lucky t'find them." With that said, she moves on, "Jake doesn't even know, of course. An' idk what he would do if he DID know, but I don't think he would really even turn Dirk down?" She pauses, thinking, "Honestly, idk."
Karkat: "Shut up, I'm way awesomer than you could ever even dream of being." He grumbles sarcastically back, resting his chin in hand as he flips through the most recent pages of the last chapter they went through together in class. "... I'm willing to bet the dumb puppy would probably at least give him a chance if he did nut up and confess. It's not like Dirk is THAT bad and he's not... unfortunate looking." Who was he kidding. Dirk was a fucking hunk and he'd shit himself if anyone like him ever looked at him twice.
"Jake is all about adventure and bullshit like that. He'd probably just see it as something new to try and if he liked it, who knows? He seems a lot like John in that he doesn't really hold it against someone if they, uhhh.... " He grows quiet, face heating up as he recalls a very specific and embarrassing moment where he almost told the stupid boy something along the lines of how pretty his horrendously blue eyes were. And then he said he wasn't gay and punched him in the arm. In a friendly manner with a wide grin, but still. ".... If they feel attraction towards them and it's not reciprocated." He ends laKarkaty, rubbing his dumb face and feeling a stab of self pity and hate over his terrible taste.
No, he didn't mean that, Terezi and John were both good people.
Roxy: Roxy gives a sympathetic smile, leaning over and rubbing Karkat's arm, "Nah, I know the feel. Same thing when I told Dirk how much I liked him. Jus' gotta tak'a deep breath an' figure that their friendship is worth it." She leans back and sighs, shifting her umbrella in the process.
"Either way, Dirk doesn't feel like that, and he needs t'make sure everything is perfect before he even begins to make a move and idk." Roxy huffs, rolling her eyes.
Karkat: "A good friendship will hold even if there's unreciprocated attraction or feelings." He mutters gruffly, looking down at his arm where she touched him with an unreadable expression. He didn't like being touched casually and it sort of set him on edge but he let it go, just rubbing at his arm where she did to wipe away the sensation.
"I get the perfectionist excuse, though. Even if it's just a way to delay things while he gathers up his courage, chances are he'll get a better response if he's got everything set up the way he wants it. Stack the odds in his favor, so to speak. Get romantic, I guess... whatever serves as romantic for Southern assholes...
Roxy: Roxy frowns when she notices his reaction to her touching him, and she's quick to try and correct it, "Shit - sorry, I'm jus' hella'fectionate an'I forget some guys re'ly aren't an'..." Roxy pauses and takes a deep breath, realizing she was slurring more than she needed to, and if she started rambling she wouldn't stop. "Fuck." Another deep breath, "Ne'way, Dirk is jus' weird, and Jake won't care 'bout perfection anyway, so." She shrugs.
Karkat: "It's fine. You didn't know." He mutters quietly, tone softening up some as he pulls his cloak tighter around himself. He could deal with the jabbing and wrestling and the shoving but never the soft touching or hugging or kissing... It always made his skin feel too tight and his chest ache and his eyes burn uncomfortably. He wasn't used to it and was just another reason why he was already sure he'd die alone like a huge fucking loser.Or with Kankri, anyway. God knew his brother would prefer winding up alone too anyway.
Karkat finds the passage describing the most recent spell they worked on in class and points it out to her, not wanting to linger over it anymore than she wanted people dwelling on her slur. "Anyway, this is probably the spell the most fresh in your memory, right? Let's start here and work our way back. You have to relax and be comfortable when test time comes or else you won't pronounce it correctly, too. I know I sound like the biggest, douchiest hypocrite ever, but maybe you should find something to relax with and use it before? Like a stress ball or something...?"
Roxy: "Yeah." She nods, looking at her own book, "That one an' the bub'ly one on th' page before." Honestly Roxy just liked making the surface of objects bubble. That was rad as hell and completely useless in a normal situation. She loved it.
"Well," Roxy closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. This time when she speaks it's slow and controlled, "It's not that I can't talk without my slur, it's jus' - shit." She shakes her head, "Just hard." Roxy opens her eyes again, speaking at her normal, quick pace, "And I can read other spells. I jus' need help pronouncing them. It's easier t'slur and speak like this, so my mind wants to do it first, unable to com'rehend that my magic doesn't work like that. I'll prob'ly get better as I get older..."
Karkat: "Okay." He lets the suggestion go, figuring she probably already realizes her slurring gets bad when she's not calm anyway. "You should start practicing saying them over and over clearly whenever you have time then. Train your mind to automatically use the more difficult way with spells so you won't get stuck on it in a practical situation. Not that turning surfaces bubbly is the least goddamn bit practical in any concievable situation, but there you have it. The more recent one- the one that makes everything feel fuzzy and soft- that one might get some use..." He ponders, kind of tempted to practice making everything in his little area back in the dorm feel nice and fuzzy. When his roommates aren't around, at any rate.
"It's pronounced Swah- vis. Not Soo- ah- vis, either. Suavis. Like swab, as in cotton swab. And vis as in visceral. You say it. Without the slur."
Roxy: Roxy scrunches up her face, thinking about later years and their spells. She heard they practiced dueling. Like. REAL dueling. Rox would be so fucked.
Wait. Right. "I think bubbly surfaces are super pract'l. Like. You could make norm sand seem like quicksand!" Grin and nod. This was obvious, of course.
Roxy takes a deep breath, getting back on tutoring topic. "S'avis." Her face scrunches up again. "Shit. Tha's not right."
Karkat: He snorts at the quicksand suggestion, not really taking it seriously. He doesn't seem to lose his patience at all when she pronounces the spell wrong, though. "No, it's not. Suavis. This is one of the shorter spells too, so I think it's a good one to practice with. Suavis. Suavis. Suavis. Take your time and work the sound out. Every day pronounce it ten times correctly. Do that for each spell, in fact. It'll imprint it in your head and make it a muscle memory."
Roxy: "Bleh." She sticks out her tongue. "An' if I learn over 10 spells from one class tha's over 100 words." Roxy wasn't actually upset by that, she was just nervous to try something new, honestly. If it didn't work than it was another thing that didn't help and those things suck. She takes a deep breath. "Part of the prob'em is also forgetin' how they act'lly sound because I'm thinkin' in my own terms..." She looks away. Wow. The lake was really pretty right now.
Karkat: "A hundred words is nothing. Kankri spouts off at least a thousand by the end of breakfast alone, let me tell you. But if you need to start off with a smaller number and work your way up, that's fine too. Maybe just get one of your buddies to repeat the spells for you every morning? The pronunciation is written in the book already too." He flips through it absently, not really noticing her attention is wandering. "How about flashcards?"
Roxy: Roxy nods, looking back over to him, "Nono, I understand it's not a lot, like, logic'ly, but that doesn't help my mind'll when it comes to the actual thing." Her brain was a fickle thing, and she gives a wistful sigh, mumbling to herself, "If only ever'thin' could be like potions..." Those were easy, and they reminded her of what she learned in elementary school about muggle chemists. A drop of this, and a dash of that, and if you did it right, something amazing happened.
Karkat: "Well you know you need spellwork in a lot of the more advanced potions horseshit. And even when it comes to cleaning up for the day or stirring, you know? You don't want to do all that crap by hand if you can do it magically. People will point it out." He rubs his head, thinking hard to try and come up with more solutions. He wasn't a speech therapist for christ's sake but he had to at least find some sort of option that didn't sound shitty and obvious.
"You could maybe start researching to see if there's a spell or potion that helps with enunciation? I don't know. If there is one I wouldn't know about it, but the last hundred or so generations of crackpot spellflingers seem to have spent so much time with their wands up their asses that they've thought of stupid ridiculous incantations for nearly everything anyway. I mean come on, that would be way more useful than making everything bubbly."
Roxy: She snickers, "I don't think you rec'nize the full applications of bubbly surfaces, but I'll let it slide." There weren't really any. It was basically a useless, simple spell. Perfect for second years.
"I also dunno about a spell t'help me enunciate. That seems... Weird." Vaguely like cheating. And also very complicated. Would she have to cast the spell on herself every time she wanted to practice another spell? How long did it last? Were there any side effects?
"Anyway I like cleanin' cauldrons by hand. It's a simple, repetitive thing and if you do it soon enough than it's not'a huge mess." And if the mess was toxic or big enough, she just had the professor magic it away. Perfect.
Karkat: "Yeah well I bet that wouldn't fly in an O.W.L. test or any of the other stupid animal acronym tests they have for us. Plus you gotta start thinking about what you'll do after graduation too. You can't exactly expect to get really great at potions and then apply for a job in the field when you lack the most basic skills." He points out, getting the feeling this was a problem that probably should be addressed sooner rather than later.
"Pureblood wizards will always look down on you if you don't do even mundane tasks the magical way, as assbackwards as they are. Those predjudiced pricksuckers are always looking for ways to validate themselves and you shouldn't give them any ammo against you. I know for a fact Serket is always all over your ass about every little slip up you make."
Roxy: She gives a long silence at that, head lowered and her umbrella lowered a bit to shield her a bit more. "Yeah..." She speaks after a while, sighing, "I know... I mean. I figured. But its different when y'say it out loud..." There's another short pause as she thinks about it again, and Roxy shrugs, "I'll jus' hav'ta figure this out, I guess..."
Karkat: ".... Sorry. I wish I knew a more concrete way to help but all I can suggest is you do the verbal exercises." He says with a short glance over at her, feeling like a huge piece of salty shit. Of course he can't help her. And he should have just kept his big fucking mouth shut. She definitely needed to hear that but... not from him. He huffs in frustration and starts putting his book back in his bag, standing up and avoiding looking at her.
"C'mon. It's about dinner time and I'm sure if we miss it we'll have a couple of Striders on our cases if we show up half way through. The last thing I need is Dave making up more shitty asanine guesses about where I am when I'm not glued to his fucking hipster hip anyway." He grouses, figuring she could use some better company than him right now.
Roxy: "Nah," she shakes her head, putting her own books in her bag and standing up, adjusting the umbrella on her shoulder. "C'mon Kitkat, it's kind of cute how they worry about their friends all the time." Whatever mood she was in earlier was gone , and Roxy was back to normal, cheerful self. "'Tho you're right. An' I'm hungry anyway. So let's go?"
Karkat: "Mmph." He grunts and turns to lead the way with his usual grumpy expression, figuring at least he'd get to sit and swallow the shitty feelings along with whatever they had on the table that evening. He'd been putting on more weight lately, thanks in part to his tendency to fill up on the good food as often as possible. At least Strider'd had the good grace not to comment. So far, anyway. With his mind now firmly on food and stupid Striders, he lets their conversation fall to the back of his head and tries not to worry about what can't be fixed. By him, at any rate.