The Palace

*Fef glares daggers at him*

W)(-Er-E is your r-Esp-Ect, -Eridan Ampora?

*Meenah snorts*

id rather you krill me before we come to makin our friends scrape their heads or whatevs

what do you want ampora say it clearly for miss fussy beach over here

*Feferi glares at her but doesn't retort*

Karkat stares blankly at Eridan, clearly zoned out until Feferi suddenly became persnickety over Eridan's greeting.
WHAT? OH. ERIDAN. HOW'S IT GOING? THAT WAS RHETORICAL BY THE WAY. I DON'T GIVE A NOOKCRUNCHING FUCK ABOUT HOW IT'S GOING.
Karkat stops leaning on his arm and sits up.

*Eridan awkwardly clears his throat*

right ill just get straight to the point then
as fef may havve told you i wwanna build a navvy
reason number one i wwanna build a navvy is cause its the single most kickass thing i can imagine doin wwith my life

*He starts pacing in small circles*

reason number twwo is a lot longer but heres the short vversion
there havve been reports a sea beasts attacks an increasin pirate activity wwhich is hurtin trade makin people end up dead an in the long run can cause a supply problem for centaurium
ivve got a bunch a documents on me wwith all the data i gathered on this plus a plan a action for any givven budget you assign to me wwhich i can paraphrase if you wwant
lastly id also like to remind you alternia had millenia a navval wwarfare all a wwhich wwould be lost to history if it wwasnt stored here betwween my twwo fins

*He stops walking, maintaining an aura of confidence*

all i need is a signature or wwhatevver other seal a approvval i need to get this done
any questions

*Fef says nothing for a moment, looking down at Eridan with an imperious gaze that would have impressed the Condesce herself*

I agr-E-E wit)( many of your points, -Eridan Ampora. W)(at I do NOT agr-E-E wit)( is w)(y som-Eon-E suc)( as yours-Elf s)(ould b-E allow-Ed to l-Ead suc)( a proposal.

*Nep starts at the veiled hostility in Fef's voice. Not really surprising, but Nep thought she'd have hid it a little better. Nep whistles and whispers*

:33 < damn ampurra how are you gonna respond to THAT

*Meenah looks at Karkat, clearly waiting to hear what he has to say

*Eridan whispers back, sounding just slightly miffed from Feferi's tone*

hopefully the others disagree an i wwont havve to
but if it comes dowwn to it i knoww im the best person for the job an im ready to argue it if i gotta

Karkat looked over at Meenah, expecting her to go next. After a few seconds of staring at each other, he realized she was waiting for him. Clearing the embarrassment from his face, he straightened himself up to look back at Eridan, and cleared his throat.
ERIDAN, AS MUCH OF AN ASSBLASTING PUNGENT SHITSTAIN ON THE UNDERPANTS OF SOCIETY YOU WERE IN SGRUB, THERE'S NO OTHER TROLL I'D PREFER TO TAME THE WILD WAVES OF CLUSTERFUCKERY ON THIS PLANET'S OCEAN.

*Fef immediately stands up*

YOU CAN NOT B-E S-EARIOUS!

T)(IS )(ORRIFICALLY AWFUL -EXCUS-E FOR A TROLL N-EARLY GOT -EV-ERYON-E KILL-ED AND CAM-E T)(IS CLOS-E TO RUINING -EV-ERYT)(ING AND YOU WANT )(IM TO B-E IN C)(ARG-E OF A NAVAL ARMY?

*Meenah stands up and slowly walks up to Feferi and taps her on the shoulder. Feferi spins around, eyes ablaze with anger*

W)(AT!!!!

*Meenah smirks and smacks her in the face with her 2x3dent, knocking her to the floor*

god ur sad you gotta be krillin me
cant bereef that im havin to tell you when im the one from beforus
trolls krilled each other all the damn time on alternia you dont get to let your hake for this doofish cloud ur judgement
ur an )(eiress so start acting like one

*Fef glares at Meenah before looking sullenly at the ground. Meenah snorts and sits back down, crossing her legs, looking bored again*

ampora two point oh i agree with nubs mcshouty over here
all i wanna hear about is da budget and waterebber you need from us

*Nep runs over to Fef and helps her to her feet. Fef leans against Nep and rubs her jaw still looking at the floor. Nep whispers reassuringly in her ear and sits her back down in her throne while flashing a predatory look at Meenah, so quick you'd have to be looking directly at her to notice*

*Eridan goes wide-eyed, almost teary-eyed at Karkat's what more or less boils down to a decleration of trust, but Feferi's reaction quickly pits an end to that.
When the two empresses are done arguing his demeanor has shifted to a sombre conviction*

ill need money for at least twwo additional ships includin creww an cargo ovver a six month period
ill havve enough results by then to wwarant an increase
mostly i wwanna make sure the legal infrastructure is in order so me an my marines dont get arrested for doin our jobs

*He uncaptchalogues a couple scrolls and tosses them to Karkat*

just sign these an ill figure out the details wwith your underlings
think ivve already ovverstayed my wwelcome

*Meenah frowns*

getting ahead of urself ampora i wanted to sea the costs before i make any choices

Karkat scans the scrolls before signing his name onto them.
I'M PUTTING MY CLUCKBEAST SPHERES INTO THIS BASKET HERE, DON'T MAKE ME REGRET IT BY YOU JUMPING OFF THE HOLD POLES INTO THE GAPING MAW OF THE FIRST HELLISH SEABEAST YOUR GLANCE NUGGETS GAZE UPON IN SEARCH FOR A GLITTER BISCUIT.
Karkat hands the scrolls over to Meenah.
THE COSTS ARE IN THE CONTRACT.

*Meenah scans the scrolls for a few moments, grumbles about how she could spend this money on a nice solid gold surfboard, then rolls up the scrolls and throws them at Tavros*

take those somewhere safe nerd
works for me ampora you got ur navy

*Feferi stands up and stalks out the front door, brushing past Eridan roughly as she passes. Nep watches her leave, hesitates, then follows her out*

Tavros fumbles the scrolls as he trys to catch them, looking rather foolishly while doing so.

uHHHHH RIGHT AWAY HEIRESS!

Tavros quickly signals for two guards to take the scrolls from him and take them to the shelves in the royal vault containing other similar contracts.

wILL THAT BE ALL YOUR UHHHHH ROYALNESSES?

Tavros seems a bit uncomfortable calling them by weird royal titles, but is trying to give the respect that someone in his position should.

*Meenah nods*

you can go now

*She looks at everyone in the room*

same for all of yall ya doofishes

*She points at Eridan*

except you

*The guards open their mouths to object, then quietly shuffle out the doors on the left and right*

Karkat gets out out of his throne.
FINALLY. I'M TIRED OF THIS BUREAUCRATIC BULLSHIT.
Karkat absconds towards the door.

*Meenah grins and vanishes from her throne with a whoosh. She zips up to Karkat and grabs his arm, steering him away from the door*

where ya goin shouty we havent chilled in ages

Tavros looks a little put off by his dismissal, but doesn't ponder on it too long. He's glad to have been given such a prestigious position and isn't about to slack at his job.
With renewed confidence Tavros squares his shoulders, stands up straight

uHHHHM, aS THE LEADER OF THE ROYAL GUARD I'M AFRAID THAT IT IS MY UHM DUTY TO BE WITH THE GREATER MAJORITY OF THE UHM ROYALTY AT ALL TIMES,,, aS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE A DAY OFF I'M AFRAID IT'S NOT HAPPENING YOUR HIGHNESS,

OH YOU KNOW, JUST GOING TO SPEW MY GUTS LIKE A GEYSER IN A GODDAMN NATIONAL PARK AT THE THOUGHT OF HANGING AROUND ANY OF YOU FOR ANY LONGER THAN NECESSARY. AS ONE DOES.
Karkat loosens himself from Meenah's grip and tries going for the door again.
BESIDES, YOU SAID YOU ONLY NEEDED AMPORA, SO I'M GETTING THE FUCK OUT BEFORE MORE OF THIS USELESS SHAMEGLOBE FONDLING REARS ITS WITHERED WRINKLED BONEBULGE TO RUIN MY DAY FURTHER.

Tavros is extremely torn as to whom he should be with at this time, after mulling it over he figured he should not stay with Meenah for the mean time, Karkat seems to need a little alone time, and Fef has Nep;deciding not to deal with Meenah, he decides to leave, following Feferi and Nepeta at a reasonable distance so as not to be a bother.

*Meenah slides in between Karkat and the door like a slippery eel*

aw cmon shouty i always need ya

*Meenah traces a finger along Karkat's horns, grinning so wide her dagger teeth glint in the moonlight*

besides i think her highness would get all kinds of upset if i letcha leave me alone with this chucklefish

Karkat ducks away from Meenah's touch, putting his hands up in a form of defense.
STOP GETTING SO FAMILIAR WITH MY HORNS. YOU CAN PREFORM SHAMELESS DISPLAYS OF UNWANTED AFFECTION LATER, PREFERABLY NOT IN FRONT OF A GUEST.
He reluctantly walks back to his throne.
BUT. I WILL STAY HERE TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU TWO. I CAN'T IMAGINE THE HORRIFIC PLANS YOU TWO MIGHT MAKE WITHOUT ME TO KEEP YOU IN CHECK.

*Meenah's grin doesn't falter in the slightest as Karkat tries to slip away. She walks over to her throne and sits down, eyeing Eridan as she does*

its a date then shouty

*Eridan follows these events with raised eyebrow, trying to figure out what quadrant he's looking at here. (It's always hard to tell with Karkat.) He makes a mental note to bring it up some other time*

so wwhat constitutes as chillin here in the palace an howw much shit are wwe gonna end up breakin

*Meenah looks almost bored when looking away from Karkat to address Eridan*

look doofish just cuz i told feferi to chill the glub out dont mean that im not pissed at you
shes my cute lil descendant and u fucked her up reel good
beach can barely think with u around shes so scared

i fuckin KNOWW that

*There is a flash of frustration before he realizes his tone and lowers his voice again*

i knoww shes scared an i keep tryin to convvince her she doesnt havve to be
but shes not givvin me any chance to provve it an it fuckin sucks alright

*He takes out a flask (with an engraving of a seahorse) and takes a swig*

shoulda just let her stick me wwith the fuckin trident i guess

*Feferi is huddled in a corner far away from the throne room and any guards that might have been around. It took ages to lose Tavros and Nepeta but she really didn't want them to see her like this. She silently sobs and hits herself on the top of her head repeatedly*

*Nepeta frowns when she can't find her. She spies Tavros and slinks away without him noticing. Just when she's getting frustrated she picks up Feferi's scent. She crouches and prowls through the shadows to sneak past Tavros again and find where she is. She approaches Fef slowly, and rests a hand on her shoulder. Fef looks up, tears in her eyes and a mixture of fear and anger on her face. She starts when she sees it's Nepeta and looks away again. Nepeta sits down next to her and looks out the small window in front of them*

:33 < i get it you know
:33 < being afraid of someone who used to be your friend
:33 < not being able to think straight when you s33 or hear something that might remind you of them

*Fef goes still, no longer shaking, but tears still run down her cheeks*

Yea)( but your killer got w)(at )(e deserved. Mine is running around and )(e was just given an army.

*Nep sits quietly for a moment, not saying anything*

:33 < do you know why i started up the hunters office and started training more

*Fef looks up and shakes her head. Nep looks her in the eyes, her expression serious*

:33 < beclaws i learned i cant rely on my friends to save me anymore
:33 < beclaws i cant trust my friends to do the right thing after what happened

*Nep gives Feferi a big hug*

:33 < but i trust you
:33 < not just cuz of the time i spent being a part of you but beclaws ive always known you are the one looking out fur efurryone even if they dont apurrciate it at the time

*Fef stiffens a bit at Nep's hug, but sinks into her shoulders and begins to weep loudly. The two sit like that for a long time before Nep takes Fef by the shoulders*

:33 < dont think fur a second that any of us trust ampurra when it comes to you
:33 < if you ever f33l scared you can always ask me fur help

T)(ank you so muc)(, N-Ep-Eta

*Feferi leans against Nep, looking out the window at the pink moon still shining bright in the sky. It really was a beautiful place they'd picked. Fef thought everything would be fine when they arrived. How wrong she was. She glances at Nepeta, who is no longer looking at her and is instead looking at a large flying creature in the distance, her ears perked. Fef smiles and closes her eyes, leaning on Neps shoulder. At least one thing was better*