CHAPTER 8:

"Karkitty, just come down pawlready!" I shouted. "You've been trying to climb that tree for an hour."

"No." He yelled back. "I said I was going to climb this stupid fucking tree and I'm doing it."

"But you'll break something."

"Only if I fall."

I sighed. "If you don't come down I'll come up there and get you."

"No, fuck that." Karkat said.

I looked down at my feet. He was so pig-headed sometimes. I was supposed to be teaching him to climb trees, but he went ahead of me. After about ten minutes he'd been able to make it up to the second branch, and he hadn't gotten any further. I couldn't really see him too well, but I thought he was just hiding the fact that he'd been stuck in there for fifty minutes and couldn't climb down.

"Oh no." I heard Karkat whisper.

Next, I heard a subtle cracking noise. It was the branch Karkat was standing on. Without a second thought, I dove under the branch and caught Karkat as he fell from the tree. However because it happened so fast, I wasn't able to balance right, and had my arms- which held Karkat- pull me down to the ground with him.

I hear Karkat groan and my eyes flash open. I realize that I've fallen directly on top of Karkat. I sit up immediately and apologize.

"I told you that you'd fall." I said to him.

Karkat sits up and rubs him head. "Yeah but I didn't break anything. And I did climb the tree, like I said I would."

"And I caught you, and then you made me fall." I cross my arms.

"Okay fine, you we're right, happy?"

"Furry happy." I smiled.

"It's not as easy as you fucking made it look, Nep."

"Obviously, I've been doing it for years." I explained. "You up to spar with me yet?"

"Fuck no!" Karkat shouts.

"Awe, but Karkitty," I whined. "at this rate you'll never spar with me. I'll have you know Equius spars with me."

"Equius is twice my fucking size and is captain of the wrestling team. Of course he'd spar with you; he's one of the only people who'd survive."

"You'd survive." I pout. "I would never kill you Karkitty. I only ever kill animals when Equius and I go hunting."

Karkat shrugs and sits his back up against the tree. "I heard Eridan was hitting on you. And by I heard, I mean he told me that he did."

I scrunch my face up. "He did." I said honestly. "He's been hitting on girls he thinks are easy targets ever since Fefurry asked to stop being furrends with him."

"He did that before Feferi stopped being friends with the douche bucket."

I laughed at that. "I still hate him though, he has no respect and I'd love to break those stupid fake glasses of his."

"He's probably just feeling really fucking lonely since what happened with Feferi. I mean, I talk to him sometimes, well he gossips with me a lot. It's not like he's a super bad guy, yeah he's a fucking dick nutter, but he has his moments."

"If anyone I think he should go for Vriskers. They both kinda like the same things."

"I guess you have a point." Karkat said. Suddenly, Karkat's phone rings from his pocket and I jump. "It's Kankri, hold on." He said. "What? No I'm with Nepeta… She's in my fucking art class, Kankri, I told you that before… No I'm not doing art, and I'm not going to stop swearing just because it may "trigger" someone, there is literally no one around to be triggered… Kankri shut the fuck up, why are you calling me?... Oh, no I forgot… Okay I'll be there soon."

"What's up?" I asked.

"I forgot that it's my turn to take care of Crustacean, everyone else is going out to my aunt's."

"Who?"

"Crustacean is my cat. We can't leave him alone because he gets into shit all the time."

My eyes light up at the mention of a cat. I didn't see a cat when I was there before. "Can I see the cat?" I ask.

Karkat gives me an odd look, then nods. "Sure."

Karkat lifts his cat to show me him. I squeal and take the cat from his hands. Crustacean smells just like Karkat, but with a hint of rosemary, probably from Kanaya.

He meows at me and nuzzles into my chest, beginning to purr in my arms. I stroke his brown fur gently and smile.

"You must be good with animals." Karkat said, getting my attention. "Crustacean doesn't usually take a liking to people."

"He just knows that I'm like him, that's all. I do love animals though. I used to consider becoming a vet, I still do actually."

I set Crustacean down and turn myself into the same type of cat, a Norwegian Forest cat, but with white fur. I look at Karkat and meow at him before bopping Crustacean on the nose with my paw. He steps forwards and rubs his face on my side before licking my neck. He thinks of me as the alpha, and I lick his forehead.

I back away from Crustacean and jump up onto Karkat's shoulder. Karkat jumps, but I don't fall.

"I was going to feed Crustacean; do you also eat cat food?"

I scrunch my nose up and shake my head before jumping off and becoming myself again. "Someone fed it to me once, you kinda have to be born a cat to like that stuff."

Karkat shrugged and walked off to the kitchen. "Dinner is whatever can be made in the microwave, since I can't cook for shit." He paused. "Unless you need to feed your sister."

"Nah," I begin. "She's staying at Kurloz's tonight."

"Makara?"

"Yeah, they've been dating since middle school."

"I've known Gamzee since kindergarten." He said.

"So you're friends?" I asked, smiling at him.

"Begrudgingly. He's a juggalo shit head, but that can't be helped."

I giggled. "I guess. Anyway, I can cook for you if you want."

"Shit, really?"

"Of course." I said.

So like, thank you all for waiting! This chapter's a little boring, but I'm trying to set a few things up for future chapters, maybe some humor in the future. Like, I'm also trying to set up this nice thing so that I can crush all your feelings later, that's like, what writers do, right? Heh. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my work, I'll try and update soon, ish.

~Chris